Book One: Revenge
by Uzumaki Fenix
Summary: Reed Thimple vowed his revenge against the Bears. Now he was going to get it with the help of an acquaintance. But this "acquaintance" has his OWN plans for revenge. So when Beary is kidnapped, who's the one getting the revenge? And why was Beary chosen?
1. Prologue

**Now, I don't know if the name of Mrs. Barrington was ever mentioned in the movie, so her name is going to be Allison Barrington. Mr. Barrington is Norbert Barrington.**

**Oh, and Henry's eye color is going to be hazel green, as are Beary's.**

**I do not own the **_**Country Bears**_**. But I do own Jewel, Jordan, Tasha, and James Stone, Josh Chase, and any other character you do not recognize from the movie.**

**I also do NOT own the music in this fanfiction. They belong to their proper owners. If you want to find their owners, type in the lyrics on Google.**

**And I'm changing something: Henry never told the Bears why he was having the reunion concert, only that it was a benefit show. He didn't tell them the full reason until after the field scene in the movie.**

**Oh, and I'm changing the timeline. They broke up little over 11 years ago, in 1991. They were all around 16-20 years of age when the band was formed in 1976, a little before the talent show where Benny Boggswaggle hit Zeb with a chair. When they broke up, they were all around the ages of 31-36. Henry was around 25 when the band began, and was around 39 when they broke up. When Beary was born in early 1992, Henry would've been around 39 or 40. Now he's around 50½. Right now, some of the Bears around 41-45.**

**Current ages:**

**Henry Dixon Taylor – 50½**

**Ted Bedderhead - 45**

**Fred Bedderhead - 44**

**Tennessee O'Neal - 43**

**Trixie St. Claire - 42**

**Zeb Zoober – 41**

**Jewel Stone – 11¾**

**Beary Barrington - 11**

**And now we begin…**

The Nashville Tribune  
Sunday August 4th, 2002  
_**COUNTRY BEARS**_** ARE BACK!  
**Full story on page 2

Reed Thimple glared at the newspaper headline. Underneath the obnoxious heading was a picture of the famous _Country Bears_ and their newest member—and the very reason they were back together—Beary Barrington, all smiling on stage after their concert. Under that was another picture of them all standing in front of _Country Bear Hall_. Opening the newspaper to the second page, his eyes filled with the same rage he always had when he read this particular story as he had for almost a year.

_Young Beary Barrington, newest member of the _Country Bears_, fulfilled his dream to meet his heroes, the _Country Bears_, a week ago when he brought the disbanded Country group back together for a benefit concert on Saturday night._

_Beary ran away from his home after believing that he did not "fit in" with his human family. Following the advice of one of his heroes, Fred Bedderhead, who said this many years ago, "At _Country Bear Hall_ , you can be different and still fit in", Beary went to _Country Bear Hall_ , hoping to find somewhere to fit in. What he found instead was a near foreclosure building that was soon to be torn down due to heavy debt._

_When he learned that his favorite place in the world was going to be torn down, Beary went to Henry Dixon Taylor, the owner of _Country Bear Hall_ and former manager of the _Country Bears_, and suggested that they get the band back together for a benefit concert._

"_When this kid first came to me with the idea, I outright shot it down. I knew there was no way that the band would get back together. Not in a million years, that is," Henry told reporter Jordan Babcock. "I went up to stand in the balcony to, you know, listen to the music notes that got trapped up there from all the music that had been played in the Hall, and I heard one of my favorite songs being sung. At first I thought I was back in the olden days, watching the gang play onstage, but then I went outside and the singing got louder. I walked over to the small pond and found Beary sitting there with a guitar, singing, "_Where Nobody Knows MyName_". I don't know what happened exactly, but it made me think about what he had said."_

_Henry laughed, "Next thing I knew, I had warmed up to the idea and off we went to get the band back together_."

Reed angrily crushed the paper into a ball. '_So… It was the kid that ruined my revenge!_' he thought angrily. '_Him and Henry both!_' He got up from where he sat between two dumpsters and was about to throw the paper ball into one of them, when he paused and opened it again, going to the first page. He stared at the second picture thoughtfully for a moment. '_Beary Barrington, eh?_'

His eyes turned cold as he continued staring at the young bear in the middle surrounded by the older bears. Next to the young bear was Henry, who had his paw on Beary's shoulder. Both were smiling. '_You brought my enemy back together, young Beary. Because of you and Henry, my life has been ruined! A mistake that you will all regret for the rest of your lives!_'

Reed had lost his job after he had gone crazy when the Bears got back together and saved _Country Bear Hall_, gotten drunk, and left. He had hit a child and killed it, getting himself sent to jail. There, he had read _The Nashville Tribune_. Then he had seen the headline, announcing the Bears' return. When he had seen the picture below it, he had studied it carefully. To his surprise, he had seen the young bear standing among his enemies. It was then that he knew what he had to do: he had to get revenge.

Nearly three months after arriving at the jail, he had broken out, thanks to the help of an "acquaintance" who also hated the Bears, but for a different reason than himself. The bear, (yes, it had been a bear that had helped him) told him something else as well.

"_Find the Heart of the enemy, and you find their weakness. Destroy the Heart, and you destroy the enemy._"

He thought for a moment. '_Hm… the only way to bring down the enemy is to strike at the Heart. Moreover, the only way to make sure the enemy doesn't recover is to kill the Heart… Well, I've found the Heart of those cursed bears._'

Reed looked at the brick wall in front of him, imagining the expressions of Bears when their Heart was destroyed. "Yes… They'll suffer!" he whispered with a creepy smile. "They'll pay… They'll all pay!" he shouted, his voice echoing in the empty alleyway. "NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES, THEY WILL PAY!"

.~*Revenge*~.

By: Uzumaki Fenix


	2. Chapter One

.~*Chapter One*~.

As Beary was packing up his text books at his locker, he sighed. "Why do the teachers give us so much last-minute homework? Friday is the last day of school! What's the point of assigning homework?" he wondered aloud. "I have to practice tonight!"

"Hey, Doofus!"

Beary couldn't help but smile when he heard his older, _human_ brother call him by his _nickname._ "Hey, Dex," he answered as he closed the locker door and picked up his backpack. "What are you doing here?"

Dexter "Dex" Barrington, not hearing the question, took one look at his bear-brother's full backpack and his eyes boggled. "Wow! Man that sucks! Don't you have practice with the Bears tonight?" he asked.

Beary nodded.

Dex sighed. "Sucks being you, then."

"Dex! You comin'?" a voice down the hall called. Both Barringtons looked to see one of Dex's friends, AJ (Alex Johnson), waving at them.

Dex nodded and looked back at his brother. "Hey, can you tell Mom and Dad that I went to AJ's?"

Beary just smiled. He had gotten his answer. "Sure."

Dex took his smile as one to cover up disappointment; Beary usually smiled to hide his upset emotions. "Beary, I would've invited you to come, but since you've now become a _Country Bear_…"

"I understand, Dex. Go on. Besides, AJ's _your_ friend."

"True…" He glanced at his brother again. "You sure you're okay with this?"

"Dex, I'm in the fifth grade! I can handle telling Mom and Dad that you went to a friend's house!" Beary complained. Ever since he had returned after running away a year ago for about a week, Dex had become _slightly_ overprotective. Beary would give anything to have his old brother back. His old, constantly teasing brother.

"Okay, then." Dex ran over to his friend. "See-ya, Beary!" he called over his shoulder.

Beary turned in the opposite direction and began walking through the crowded hallway, ignoring the numerous stares and people pointing at him. He was always being pointed out by numerous people. It used to be because he was a bear living with humans—though he hadn't really thought much about it before—but now it was because of whom he now was.

A _Country Bear_.

"Hey, Barrington!"

Beary was startled when he heard the most popular guy in the junior high school, Josh Chase, speaking to him. He certainly never had before! Josh was basically everything Beary wasn't: Human, good-looking, jock, had a girlfriend, and most popular guy in school—even though he had basically just transferred there at the beginning of second semester. He also seemed to hate Beary from day one. "Uh, hi, Josh," Beary answered, confused at the eighth grader's friendly attitude. "What do you want?"

Josh put an arm around his shoulders; both he and Beary were at equal height. "Aren't you the one who got the _Country Bears_ back together?" he asked as they walked through the halls. "What was it… a year ago?"

Beary nodded, slightly uncomfortable. Dex had told him to stay away from Josh, but wouldn't tell him why. Just that Josh was "bad news".

"That's cool," Josh answered, sounding as if he didn't really care. "So, you're like, one of them, right?"

Beary smiled. "Yep!" he answered happily, thinking that Josh actually cared. "In fact I-"

"So, can you hook me and my girl up with some front seat tickets to the next show?" Josh interrupted. "What is it, the summer tour kick-off?"

'_So much for caring what I think,_' Beary thought as he stopped walking. "I, uh, I can't do that. Sorry."

Josh froze and glared at the bear, removing his arm from the bear's shoulder. "What?"

"I can't, Josh. You have to pay for your tickets just like everyone else," Beary answered, not trying to sound rude.

Josh, however, didn't take it that way.

"You did not just tell me 'no', did you?" he asked, slamming Beary into a wall. People immediately began to gather around them. Beary let out a growl, causing Josh to back away. "What, are you going to let your 'bear' instincts overcome you? Bring it!" Josh taunted, beckoning the bear to make a move. "I'll still kick your furry ass!"

Beary just shook his head. "I'm not going to fight you, Josh," he said as he attempted to make his way down the hallway, but was blocked by the crowds. "Let me through!"

"What, you gonna run like a little coward?" Josh asked when Beary finally pushed through the crowds. "Gonna run back to your little singing group? Gonna go cry to them like the wuss you are?"

Beary tried to ignore him and continued walking.

"Don't worry, Beary! You'll regret ever saying 'no' to me!" Josh shouted as the fifth grader exited the hallway. '_You'll also regret what you did to my father. Just you wait._'

Beary sighed as he pushed through the front doors after going to the music department and getting his guitar. '_What's Josh's problem with me?_' he wondered. '_What did I ever do to him?_'

"Hey, Beary!"

Beary looked up and saw the golden fur and twinkling forest green eyes of another bear that went to the school, Jewel Stone. She was wearing an ankle-length, black robe that was buttoned up in the front. The pattern on the jacket resembled something like sapphires on fire with blue flames. On top of her head, she had medium-length, wavy, thick, golden locks parted in the middle.

She, too, was a huge fan of the _Country Bears_ and Beary's longtime friend since kindergarten. She was a wonderful keyboard player that also had an amazing singing voice. It was her dream to be like her longtime idol, Trixie St. Claire.

But, unlike Beary, her family was all-bear.

He felt his fur grow warm, and it wasn't because of the warm May sun. "Hi, Jewel," he replied shyly. "What did you do today?" He mentally groaned. '_That was a stupid question_.'

Jewel giggled. "Well, I went to school," she answered playfully, making him smile. "I also got to bake cookies in Home Ec." She seemed to magically produce a paper plate of golden cookies from behind her back. "Want one? They're sugar," she added, knowing that they were his favorite.

Beary nodded and grabbed one with his light brown paw. "Thanks," he mumbled as he chewed the delicious goodness. They began walking down the sidewalk, heading towards their neighborhood.

Jewel studied him for a moment before speaking. "I saw what happened in the hallway, Beary," she said quietly.

Beary suddenly found the sidewalk to be very interesting.

"You can't let him push you around like that!" Jewel exclaimed when her friend didn't respond. "It's not right! You were doing the right thing, Beary!"

"Yeah, I know," Beary answered.

"Beary, I mean it! He's a jerk who takes advantage of people! Why they made Junior High for grades fifth through eighth is beyond me." She then smiled playfully. "Do you want me to kick his butt for you?" she asked, mock-kicking an invisible Josh.

"Jewel!" Beary laughed. "No!"

They laughed like that for almost two blocks, neither noticing the black van that followed them.

Jewel suddenly sobered. "Did… Did you receive any more of those creepy letters?" she asked quietly.

Beary shook his head. "Not today, thank goodness."

"Beary, have you told your parents yet? Or the _Bears_?" When Beary didn't answer, Jewel let out an angry growl. "Beary! You need to tell them that you've been receiving threatening letters! They have a right to know!"

Beary merely nodded and kept walking. "I know, Jewel. I know. I just don't wanna freak them out. It's probably just a stupid prank, anyway." Since the beginning of the second semester, he had begun receiving threatening letters. At first, he paid them no attention, but as time went on, they became more threatening. Eventually, Jewel noticed that he had been acting strange, so she made him tell her what was going on. Needless to say, she was most upset when she learned about what he was hiding and demanded that he tell an adult.

"Death threats are no joke, Beary. Whoever this "BB" is, he seems to mean business. I don't want to see you get hurt. After all, you've only just turned eleven a few days ago."

Beary playfully glared at her. "You're eleven, too, you know."

"Oh, contraire, monte comindaire. I am five months older than you."

They began to laugh all over again, the seriousness of the situation becoming lost in the laughter. Eventually their laughter died down to almost silent giggles.

They walked in silence after that.

As they neared Jewel's house, she turned to look at him. "Want to come over and work on homework at my house?" she asked, knowing they basically had the same classes together. Except for seventh period, where he had PE and she had Home Ec.

Beary thought for a moment. "Well, I'm pretty sure Mom and Dad would say 'yes' anyway, so… Yeah!"

Jewel smiled and led the way up the front steps. Swinging open the door, she called out, "Mom, Jordan, I'm home!"

"Jewel!" a young voice shouted. "Beawy!"

The eleven-year-olds looked to their right and smiled. Four-year-old Jordan Stone, Jewel's little black furred, blue-eyed brother, was waving at them from the large, forest green couch in the living room. Dropping their backpacks in one of the large green chairs (Beary set his guitar next to the chair), both older cubs walked over to the four-year-old.

Beary walked past Jordan and went to the phone to call his adopted parents to tell them where he was and where Dex had gone. Jewel, meanwhile, picked up her baby brother and hugged him. "How's my little Jordy?" she teased as she set him back down on the couch and began to tickle him mercilessly, causing him to scream with laughter.

Beary laughed as he hung up the phone and watched Jordan try to get away from his older sister.

"Save me, Beawy!" Jordan laughed.

Beary knew better than to get in between the two siblings; last time he tried that, he ended up being tickled as well. He was _extremely_ ticklish. "Jewel, let him go," he laughed.

"Jewel! Leave your brother alone!" called the alto-like voice of Jewel's and Jordan's dark furred, blue-eyed mother, Tasha Stone. She came out into the living room with an orange apron on and a mixing bowl cradled in her arm. "Why, hello, Beary!" she said cheerily, going over to the cub and giving him a one-armed hug. "It's been a long time since you've been over!"

"Hey, Mrs. Stone," Beary answered politely, returning the hug. "I've been busy, but it's good to be back."

"Beary, how many times must I remind you to call me 'Tasha'?" she asked playfully.

Beary smiled. "Almost all the time, Mrs. Stone," he answered, playing along.

Next to him, Jewel giggled.

Tasha sighed, exasperated. "Ugh! You're never gonna learn!" she laughed. She then turned to her daughter. "I need to go to the store and get some things that I forgot to get. Can you stay down here and watch your brother for me until either your father or I get home?"

Jewel nodded. "Sure, Mom. Do you want me to put him down for his n-a-p?"

"If you can handle it, sweetheart. He's been in a bad mood all day. This the first time I've actually heard him laughing today." She looked at the two fifth graders with a playful smile. "You two seem to have a calming effect on him… Either that or you gave him sugar."

The two younger bears just smiled innocently.

Tasha turned around. "Well, I'd better get going. Are you going to stay for dinner, Beary?" she asked from the kitchen.

"Can't, Mrs. Stone. I've got practice tonight. Thanks for the offer, though!"

"That's right," Tasha sighed. She missed having the boy over for dinner. She knew that Jewel did, too.

Jewel glanced at her friend. "Don't you have a concert this weekend?"

Beary nodded. "Sunday. It's the summer tour kick off." He smiled deviously. "Wanna come?" He knew it would be the last time he would see her until August. He was going with the band on the summer tour this year. He had packed and repacked several times and could hardly wait to go.

Beary had been shocked when the gang asked him if he wanted to go with them on the summer tour. He had discussed it with his adopted parents, and when they had said that he could… He was like a chipmunk on coffee.

Jewel had been bummed about it when he had told her that he wasn't going to be around during the summer. So, she told him that he had better take some pictures for her. If he forgot, she would strangle him.

Jewel beamed. "Can I, Mom? Can I?" she begged. She'd been waiting all year to be able to go to a concert, but they hadn't been able to afford it, or her parents had been too busy, or she'd been grounded. She was a bit of a troublemaker at times.

Tasha, coming out of the kitchen, laughed. "If you get your homework done for the week, I guess you could. Provided the Bears are okay with it," she added with a smile.

"I already asked Henry. He said that it's all right with him. I just needed to ask you," Beary put in. "And it's free of charge." He didn't mention the fact that he, himself, had paid for the backstage pass. Henry, of course, had asked a few questions about why he was buying a backstage pass when his family was already allowed to come backstage anyway. Once Beary had explained the situation, Henry had just smiled and cut the price in half and agreed to not tell the others about Beary's special guest.

He just hoped that Tasha agreed.

"Well, then I have no objections." No one noticed the worried look in Tasha's blue eyes.

Jewel ran and gave her mother a hug. "Thank you!"

Tasha laughed and winked at Beary. "Well, I'm off. You two finish your homework." With that, she gave Jordan a hug, told him to behave, and then went out the door, closing it behind her.

Beary and Jewel took one look at each other before grabbing a couch pillow each and hitting each other.

Jordan started giggling as he watched the best friends hit each other with pillows, even if he didn't understand why. "Piwow!" he laughed as he threw a pillow at them.

After a few minutes of their pillow fight, Beary and Jewel collapsed onto the couch, laughing. Finally, Beary smiled and wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes.

"Well, we'd better get started on our homework."

Jewel sighed as well. "Drat. But, if it means I can go to the concert, then it's so worth it!"

Beary laughed. He was about to get up off the couch when a small paw grabbed his arm. Glancing down, he saw Jordan looking at him hopefully. "What is it, lil' buddy?" he asked.

Jordan pointed to Beary's guitar, then at Beary and Jewel. "Pway song?" he asked innocently.

Beary thought for a moment. "Hm…. Should we?" he asked playfully, looking at Jewel.

Jewel winked. "I don't know, CBB," she answered, using his nickname that she had given him a long time ago. Well, one of the nicknames. The other was _Lil' Bear_, because he was short. "Should we?"

Jordan glared at them. "Pwease?" he begged.

Jewel sighed dramatically. "Well, I _guess_ I could go and get my keyboard…"

Beary smiled. "And I _guess_ I could grab my guitar…"

"Do it!" the four-year-old demanded impatiently. "Now!"

The eleven-year-olds laughed. "We're going! We're going!" they said in unison as they dramatically pushed themselves up off the bear-sized couch.

"Hey, Beary, can you help me get my keyboard?" Jewel asked.

"Sure."

"Stay here, Jordan, or you don't get your own private concert!" Jewel warned, glaring at her baby brother. Jordan merely nodded and sat back against the back of the couch. Jewel then turned to her friend. "Come on, Beary. It's up in my room."

Beary felt slightly nervous about going up into her room. He hadn't been in there for, like, ever! Who knows how much it had changed.

They trudged up the stairs and down the hallway, until they reached her room, which was at the end of the hall. Her door was covered in _Country Bears_' posters from the olden days, and one picture that surprised him. It featured the _Bears_ and…

Himself.

Jewel noticed that he was staring at the picture on her door and smiled. "That one's my favorite," she spoke quietly.

"Why?"

"Well, besides the fact that my favorite band is back… My best friend is a part of it," she answered softly. She turned to glance at him after a moment of silence, only to find him smiling. Feeling her face fur warm, she quickly turned away and opened her door. "You coming?"

Beary nodded and followed her into her room, which was very much like his own. The walls were covered in _Country Bears_ posters, but mainly featuring the female member of the group, who wasn't as well-known, but just as important.

He recognized her right away. Trixie St. Claire, Jewel's idol. He knew that meeting Trixie was Jewel's dream, one that he hoped to fulfill for her. He had been too busy over the past year to do anything about it; that… and the fact that she had never mentioned it before. But now that Jewel was going to come on Sunday, he could finally fulfill his promise. Plus, he could finally see if his assumption was correct. He always wondered if Jewel was somehow related to Trixie. After all, there were not that many natural golden bears.

Jewel walked over to one of the corners of her room and grabbed her keyboard. "Can you grab the stand?" she asked.

Beary jumped, startled, then nodded. He made his way over there, grabbed the small stand, and then followed her out of the room.

"You back!" Jordan squealed happily.

Beary set the stand on the ground, went over to the chair, and grabbed his guitar. Turning back to the siblings, he pulled the guitar strap over his head and smiled. "You ready, CBJ?" he asked, using the nickname he had given her. He, too, had another nickname for her: _Gram Cracker_. It really made her angry when he used it, however.

"Hold on! There's one more thing I wanna get!" she cried, running back up the stairs.

Beary watched her go, a confused expression currently being shown in his green eyes. He glanced at Jordan. "What was that about?"

Jordan just shrugged. "Me no-no."

Before Beary could comment again, Jewel ran back down the stairs. "Okay, I got what I needed!" she cried, setting the strange looking box down in front of them. She then bent down and began hooking up some cords from her keyboard to it.

"Jewel? What are you doing?" Beary asked.

"Huh? Oh, this! It's a surprise!" she replied as she finished. She then stood up and moved behind her keyboard.

Beary just stared at her for a moment before turning to Jordan. "So, Jords, what song do you wanna hear?"

The four-year-old thought for a moment. "Nobody Name," he answered.

Beary glanced at Jewel in confusion. Jewel giggled. "He means, '_Where Nobody Knows My Name_'."

"Ah." Beary quickly tuned his guitar, and then looked at his friend. "You ready, CBJ?"

"Always, CBB," Jewel answered with a smirk as she fiddled around with her keyboard.

_There's a town down the road_  
_Where I ain't been before_  
_Nobody knows my name_  
_Or what I'm lookin for_

_Maybe things will be a little different_  
_'Cause they can't stay the same_  
_I'm gonna ease on down the road_  
_Where nobody knows my name_

_I've got to keep the dust a' movin'_  
_Up around my heels_  
_There might be a change for me_  
_Just over that distant field_

_Even when the past comes callin'_  
_Lookin' for somebody to blame_  
_I'll be easin' on down the road_  
_Where nobody knows my name_

_When the burnin' sun surrenders_  
_Will she still remember me_  
_I never told him I was goin'_  
_Out where the wind is blowin' free_

_If she thinks about me tonight_  
_I know she won't miss the pain_  
_Cause I'll be takin' it down the road_  
_Where nobody knows my name_

_When the burnin' sun surrenders_  
_Will she still remember me_  
_I never told him I was goin'_  
_Out where the wind is blowin' free_

_If he thinks about me tonight_  
_I know she won't miss the pain_  
_I'll be takin it down the road_  
_Where nobody knows my name_

_I'm gonna ease on down the road_  
_Where nobody knows my name_

As they finished singing, their voices quieted, as did their instruments. Jordan had fallen asleep. Smiling, Jewel pressed a button on her keyboard and sighed. "Well, we'd better get this back upstairs before Mom comes home and freaks. Plus we have to work on homework."

Beary nodded and took his guitar over to the chair and leaned it up against it. He then helped Jewel carry her stuff back upstairs. Once they came back down, they grabbed their backpacks, laid down on the floor, and began to work on math. Halfway through their math homework, Jewel voiced Beary's thoughts on why the teachers had given out so much "last-minute" homework. They then got into an animated but quiet discussion about the pointlessness of it all. After that, Jewel asked how things were going with the Bears.

They barely got any work done after that.

After a while, Beary looked at the wall clock and gasped. "Shoot! It's already 3:50? I'm gonna be late!" he cried as he jumped up. He quickly packed his books up and swung the backpack over his shoulder. "Henry's gonna kill me!"

Jewel frowned. "You lost track of time. It's not your fault, you know," she argued.

"Try telling Henry that," Beary muttered. In reality, Henry was like a second father to him. He knew that Henry wouldn't "kill" him over something like this.

Jewel playfully punched his arm. "You'd better get going then, dead bear walking," she laughed.

Beary glared at her in amusement. "Thanks for having me over. It's been a blast!"

"We should do it again sometime, CBB," Jewel smiled. Beary nodded before racing out the front door.

"See ya tomorrow, CBJ!" he called over his shoulder as he raced down the front steps.

Jewel watched him go from the doorway. "Bye, Beary!" she called. She was about to shut the door, when she noticed a black van start up and follow the young _Country Bear_. She studied it for a moment before going back inside and shutting the door. She went over to the chair and gasped. "Shoot!"

She had just found Beary's guitar.

.~*_The_ _Country Bears_*~.

Beary ran up the sidewalk towards his house, which was over two blocks away. Turning right at the street corner, he ran up the hill to his block. '_I'm dead. I'm so, so dead!_' he mentally panicked. '_If Henry doesn't kill me for being late, Ted will! He said that if I was late, he wouldn't show me the new song they had written until tomorrow! Trixie hinted at me getting a special guitar so-_'

He paused for a moment at the top of the hill. Down the way, he could see Henry's tannish-white convertible. He glanced at his paws and gasped. "My guitar! I forgot it at Jewel's!" he cried before turning around and running back down the hill. He barely noticed the black van that hid in the alley halfway down the hill. Perhaps if he had, he would've been prepared for what happened next.

Just as he reached the alley, the black van pulled out right in front of him, causing the bear cub to come to a screeching stop mere inches from the black door. "Hey, you idiot!" he growled angrily, pounding on the door. "What the heck do you think you're doing?"

He didn't expect the van door to suddenly open, nor did he expect the pair of large black paws that grabbed him under the arms and hauled him inside. He didn't see the four darts in one of the paws until the needles pierced the light brown fur on his neck.

He let out a startled yell as the paws held him back from the van door, not letting him escape. He struggled and called for help, but his calls were cut off by something being wrapped around his snout. He shook his head furiously as his vision began to blur.

Deep down, he knew what was going on and it frightened the hell out of him. He knew why he was being taken, thanks to those darn letters. He just didn't know that it was going to actually happen.

'_Somebody… Anybody! HELP ME!_' he mentally cried out in anguish. '_Dex! Mom! Dad! Jewel! Henry! Ted! Fred! Tennessee! Zeb! Trixie! HELP ME!_'

His vision continued to swim, the scene in front of him fading in and out.

He began to feel lightheaded…

The only thing he saw was a human female running towards the car, her face filled with horror. She was shouting something that either he couldn't hear or couldn't understand. He knew the woman, but couldn't place the name before his world went dark.

And it wasn't because the van door had suddenly shut.


	3. Chapter Two

.~*Chapter Two*~.

Allison Barrington anxiously looked out the front window as a bear-sized, tannish-white convertible pulled up to the curb. She immediately recognized the graying, brown-furred, green vest wearing bear driver as Henry Dixon Taylor, here to pick up Beary for practice.

Allison turned and called out to her husband. "Norbert, did Beary come home through the back? Henry's here!"

Norbert stuck his head out through the kitchen door. "No, Ally, he didn't. Jewel called a couple seconds ago and said that Beary had forgotten his guitar. Maybe he remembered and went back for it?"

She merely nodded before turning and opening the front door as Henry walked up onto the porch. "Hello, Henry. Won't you please come in?" she asked, making room for him to pass.

"I don't want to be a burden," Henry began, but Allison cut him off.

"Nonsense!"

Henry nodded and followed her inside. "Is Beary ready yet?" he asked.

Allison paused for a moment. "He went to a friend's house this afternoon and is on his way home as we speak. He forgot his guitar at Jewel's house and went back to get it."

Henry nodded. "May I have a seat?"

Allison smiled. Henry was always polite around them. "Of course, Henry," she responded. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing tonight?" she asked, sitting down in a chair while he sat down on the couch.

The aged bear sat down on the couch and smiled. "Not at all, Mrs. Barrington. The gang wrote a new song and can't wait for Beary to see it." He leaned forward and whispered, "They even included a special guitar solo for our youngest member."

Allison beamed. "Oh, Beary's going to love that!"

"What's this?" Norbert asked, coming out of the kitchen.

"Beary's going to get a guitar solo in the Bears' new song!" Allison cried.

"That's great!"

Henry had to chuckle. He was about to saying something more, but a loud pounding at the door stopped him.

Allison frowned and stood. "Now who could that be?" she wondered aloud as she made her way to the front door.

Norbert and Henry were just beginning to talk about the day's events, when Allison came walking back into the room with a middle-aged woman in tow.

"Norbert! Mrs. Washington just came running over here from her house down the block…" Allison said.

"And?" Norbert questioned, not getting the meaning of what was going on.

"I have some bad news for you," Mrs. Washington began.

"Well, please tell us then," Norbert pressed.

"I was out watering my flowers out in the front yard when I saw Beary come running up the hill. When he was almost to my house, he paused and cried out something about forgetting his guitar at Jewel's house-" Mrs. Washington began.

"And he went back to get it, correct?" Norbert asked, still not getting what was going on.

Mrs. Washington nodded. "He turned around and began to run back down the hill. I watched him, you see, and just as he was reaching the alley in the middle of our side of the hill, this black van suddenly pulled out, without any warning, right in front of him!"

Henry's eyes widened. "Is he all right?" he asked, startled.

The middle-aged woman shook her head. "I put down my shovel and was about to run down the hill and give the driver a piece of my mind, when… when…" she paused, as if she didn't know how to go on.

"Go on, Sarah," Allison begged.

Sarah Washington nodded. "There's no easy way to say this… The van's side door opened and two black—I couldn't tell if they were paws or gloved hands—but anyway, they reached out and pulled him into the van! I saw him struggle and call out for help, but they put something around his mouth, quieting him. I began to run towards the van, hoping to stop them, but the van door was pulled shut before I got there and the van raced off!"

Henry jumped up. "WHAT?" he roared, his eyes filled with both rage and fear.

"They kidnapped your son!" Sarah cried, looking at the stunned Barringtons before looking in surprise at the angry grizzly. She apparently had just noticed that he was there.

Allison's eyes were filled with horror. "Wh-What?" she whispered in shock, her hands covering her mouth.

Norbert immediately grabbed the phone and dialed the police.

Henry just stood there, shocked. '_Beary… kidnapped?_' he thought in confusion. '_Who would kidnap him and why?_' His eyes narrowed. '_It couldn't have been **him**… He's been in jail for eight years… But then… who?_'

Allison, her eyes full of tears and her shoulders shaking, sadly turned to the older bear. "I'm sorry, Henry, but… Maybe you should leave… The police aren't going to want anyone who isn't related here, anyway… We'll contact you if we hear anything…"

Henry, though wanting to argue, did as she suggested. He didn't know how to comfort a grieving family. "We _will_ help you in any way possible, Mrs. Barrington. I promise," he said, placing a paw on her shoulder. "We will not let this go unpunished. We will find… your… son." No one knew how much it hurt him to say that Beary was the Barringtons son. If only he could reveal the truth.

She merely nodded and smiled softly through her tears.

Henry then went out the front door and over to his tannish-white convertible. He sat in it for a moment before starting up the engine and driving down the street. At least now that he was in the car, he could blame the wind for his tears.

.~*The _Country Bears_*~.

The walk from Beary's school to AJ's house wasn't a long one, just around thirty minutes, and Dex was glad. It was too warm out to spend much time walking around. Dex and AJ didn't talk much on the way to the latter's house, instead opting to walk along in companionable silence. The two had been friends for years; AJ's calm personality mixed great with Dex's sarcastic persona; the two balanced each other.

As they headed up the cement path leading to AJ's front door, the teen said, "So, Dex, what do you want to do?" He unlocked the door with the key from his pocket, letting them both into the house. It was quiet, the room into which they entered dark. AJ flipped the light switch on, sending a cascade of illumination across the colorful area.

AJ's mom was an interior designer and loved colors. Their couches were simple: Black leather. The pillows, however, were an entirely different story. Bursts of bright red, blue, and purple covered the cushy surfaces, adding some much-needed accent to the otherwise dull setting. The coffee table had a glass top, colorful candles on a decorative black tray in its center. There were matching black recliners—also housing colorful pillows—and a flat screen HDTV. A PlayStation 2 was hooked up to the television, the controllers set on the ground near the stand atop which the TV satellite.

"We could actually try and do some Geometry," Dex said, clearly joking. Both boys laughed, setting their bags on the couch. AJ slipped his sneakers off his feet and wandered farther into the room, waiting as Dex did the same.

"I finally got another Guitar Hero controller," AJ told his friend. "We could do that." The game had been a gift from his parents on his birthday, and the set had only come with one guitar. AJ had saved up money until he'd had enough to buy another controller so he and his friends could play together without the hassle of using the regular controller.

"Sounds cool to me," Dex said, nodding. "Good thing Beary isn't here. He would whoop both our butts." He waited as AJ, laughing, pulled two guitar controllers from the closet near a set of stairs. His friend plugged the controllers in before handing one to Dex, who had turned on the TV and Playstation 2, waiting for the game to load. "Which song first?"

"Doesn't matter to me; I've played them so much I don't really even know what to do now," AJ replied, chuckling.

Dex scrolled through the songs, deciding. Choosing one, the two boys lapsed into silence as the clicking of the controllers took over the quiet. Every once in a while they would sing the chorus of the song, laughing at their off-key attempts. They played four more songs, repeating a couple just for the fun of it, when, suddenly, halfway through their sixth song of the day, the phone rang.

Pausing the game, AJ slipped the controller's strap from his shoulder and handed it to Dex. "Be right back," he said, dashing off into the kitchen to answer the phone. Dex assumed it was just a telemarketer wanting to sell something. He could hear AJ's voice through the open doorway. "…Yeah, he's here… Okay… Just a sec, I'll get him."

Being the only other one in the house, Dex knew he was the one AJ was going to go get. He set both of the controllers down on the floor before turning, noticing his friend had come to the doorway.

"Hey, Dex… Your Mom's on the phone. She said she's got something important to tell you. She sounds real upset," AJ said, holding out the black device.

"Thanks," Dex said, accepting the phone from his friend. He pressed it to his ear, taking a deep breath before saying, "Mom?" He didn't know why she'd be upset; something bad hadn't happened, had it?

"_Honey… I'm afraid I've got bad news._" His mother's voice was choked, and it was obvious to Dex that she was holding back tears. He felt his stomach drop, much in the same way it had when one rides on a roller coaster. It was almost dizzying, the sensation was so sudden.

"What happened?" His voice, now mirroring his mother's own worry, was little more than a whisper. But his mother heard him.

"_Beary's… Beary's been kidnapped._"

AJ, brows furrowed, looked lost. Clearly something bad had happened. "Dex… What happened, dude?"

Dex licked his lips, trying to find his voice. Beary? Kidnapped? It didn't seem possible. "I'll be home soon," he said, hanging up before his mother could speak again. He hated hearing his mother so torn up. "Beary…" He paused, taking a deep breath. He could _not _freak out. "Beary's been kidnapped. I gotta go home."

AJ nodded, grabbing Dex's bag from the couch. "Come on, I'll drive you. My mom'll understand if I borrow the car for a little while." The boys left the game still paused, rushing out the door and into the garage.

.~*The _Country Bears_*~.

"I can't wait to see Beary's face when he sees the new song," auburn furred Zeb Zoober commented as he tuned his fiddle, his forest green eyes twinkling. He wore a khaki vest—which used to be a long-sleeved jacket until he tore off the sleeves—and a bolo tie with a metal clasp; his large, brown hat resting on his head like usual.

Brown furred, light brown eyed Tennessee O'Neal, who was wearing just a black leather vest, nodded. "The third new song since he brought us back together…"

"Though, if he doesn't get here soon, he won't see it until tomorrow," black furred, amber eyed Ted Bedderhead growled. He wore a brown, tasseled suede jacket and a pair of purple-lensed eighties glasses.

"Oh, come off it, Ted!" golden furred, forest green eyed Trixie St. Claire teased. She was donned with an ankle-length, purple rose-patterned coat with fur lining. "We all know that you can't wait either!"

Ted just merely smiled, not saying anything as he tuned his guitar. It was true, after all. He could hardly wait to see the look on Beary's face.

"They're going to be here soon, right?" Zeb asked, glancing from one band member to the other, sans Roadie, who was outside talking with Big Al.

Trixie chuckled and nodded. Spotting something on one of the shelves that lined the walls, she picked it up. It was a picture. Studying it, she gasped. She knew the cub in the picture.

"Trix? What is it?" Tennessee asked, beginning to walk towards her.

"Hey, did Beary ever mention someone by the name of 'Jewel'?" she questioned after a couple moments, trying to stay calm.

The others shook their heads. "Why?" Zeb asked.

She held up a picture of a golden-furred, female bear cub standing next to Beary; both were laughing. They appeared to be standing in front of someone's home, on the front porch. It must've been winter, because there was snow on the porch railing. "On the back it says, '_Beary, age ten, and Jewel, age eleven. Taken on Jewel's birthday at her home. January 28th, 2003_'."

"She's pretty," Zeb commented, taking a closer look.

Ted nodded. "Kid's got good taste," he muttered, not noticing the glare that Trixie aimed at him due to his poor choice of words. He wouldn't have understood why she was glaring at him if he had noticed, anyway.

Tennessee studied the picture closely. Something about the female bear cub seemed awfully familiar, but he couldn't place it. "I agree with Zeb on this one," he laughed. "She _is_ pretty. Where'd ya find the picture?"

"Well, I found it near Beary's things. He must've forgotten it last time he was here."

Dark brown furred, amber eyed Fred Bedderhead, wearing large blue jean pants that were held up with one over-the-shoulder strap, looked out the window anxiously. He couldn't wait to see his little buddy. His eyes widened in delight when he saw the familiar tannish-white convertible pull up to _Country Bear Hall_. "Hey, guys! They here!" he called out excitedly. Then he paused when he noticed that only Henry was in the car. "That's strange…"

"What is it, big guy?" Zeb asked, not looking up. "Henry change his vest color?"

That earned a few chuckles. Everyone knew that Henry's favorite color was green. Not a light green or a grass green, but a nice emerald green.

"Beary ain't with Henry."

The others stared at him for a moment before getting up and gathering around the window. Sure enough, Henry was walking towards the _Hall_ alone.

They each set their instruments down and went to meet their manager on the front steps.

"Henry," Trixie began, seeing the haunted look in the aged bear's hazel green eyes, "what's wrong? Didn't you go to pick Beary up?"

The other bears looked at their manager in confusion. After receiving no answer, Ted spoke. "Henry, where is he?"

Henry finally looked at the lead singer, his eyes filled with a haunting sadness. "_That_, Ted, is the million dollar question," he answered quietly.

"What are you talkin' about?" Zeb asked.

Henry sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Well, I don't know how to say this, but…"

"Beary didn' quit, did he?" Fred asked in shock.

"Nah!" Zeb argued. "Beary wouldn't quit!" He looked at Henry, suddenly unsure. "Would he?"

Henry shook his head. "He didn't quit."

"Well, then, where is he?" Tennessee asked, gripping Trixie's paw.

"That's the problem, Tennessee," Henry answered. "_Nobody_ knows where he is!"

"What?" Ted exclaimed.

Henry sighed. "Beary was on his way home when… Ah, I'll just have to tell you everything from the beginning." He held up a paw when everyone tried to speak at once. "Inside!"

Grumbling, the Bears did as they were told. Tennessee's and Trixie's paws gripped each other's paws tighter as the two bears sat down side-by-side on the couch. Zeb sat down in a wooden chair at one end of the couch; Fred sat in a wooden chair on the opposite end. Ted stood next to his brother.

"Now, Henry, what's this all about?" Ted asked, his voice gruffer than usual.

Settling down in an armchair in front of the band, Henry sighed. Finally meeting their eyes, he said, "Well, I'll be blunt. Beary was kidnapped while walking home from a friend's house this afternoon."

Roars of outrage and disbelief met his words.

Henry held up his paw again, silencing them. "Let me continue." He proceeded to tell them what Mrs. Washington had witnessed. When he had finished, silence filled the room.

"But," Trixie whispered, breaking the silence after a few minutes, "who would want to kidnap Beary? _Why_ would someone kidnap him? He's harmless!"

"It sounds to me like it was planned out," Ted growled, crossing his arms over his chest. Rage boiled within him at the unfairness of it all.

"I have to agree with you, Ted," Tennessee spoke, wrapping an arm around Trixie in an attempt to comfort her. "Somethin' just doesn't add up!"

Zeb nodded, his paws curling into fists. He was too angry to speak.

Fred closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "Wha' if somebody kidnap'd him 'cause of us?" he asked.

All eyes turned to him. "What do you mean, Fred?" Henry asked, curious.

"Well, thin' 'bout it. Beary ain't got no enemies, but we do. Maybe somebody took him 'cause of that?"

"That's an… interestin' thought…" Ted said, glancing at his younger brother in surprise. "You may just have a point there, Freddy."

"But," Zeb finally spoke, "then it would be _our_ fault that he's missin'."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Henry got up. "Well, there's only one thing we can do," he said.

"What's that?" Tennessee asked, confused.

"We're going to the Barrington home and we're going to help find him."

Zeb thrust his fist into the air. "BEAR POWER!"

"ZEB!" the others complained, giving him dirty looks.

"Heh. Sorry."

Just then, Roadie walked in. Seeing the angry faces, he sighed, thinking that they had gotten into an argument. "What happened now?"

The others quickly filled him in on the situation. Needless to say, he was angry when he found out the reason for everyone's mood.

.~*The _Country Bears_*~.

When they arrived at the Barrington home almost an hour later, two police cars were parked out front. Roadie parked behind them and, after getting off of the bus, Henry led the way up the front steps and knocked on the door.

Mrs. Barrington answered, her eyes red and her cheeks puffy. "Oh!" she gasped in surprise. "Henry! Come right in! The police wanted to talk to you, but we couldn't reach you. Sorry for sending you away earlier. I wasn't thinking." She stepped aside and the bears filed in, each saying hello. Surprised as she was at seeing them all, she welcomed them into her home without a word of protest.

Henry led the way into the living room where Norbert was talking to four officers. All conversations stopped when the _Bears_ filed in.

One of the officers stepped forward. "And you would be?" he asked warily.

"This is Henry Dixon Taylor," Norbert answered for them. "He's the band manager for the _Country Bears_." He gestured to the other bears. "And _these_ are the _Country Bears_."

"Oh, yes," the officer replied, holding out his hand to Henry, who shook it. The man was middle-aged with pepper-colored hair and light skin. Judging by his serious demeanor, he had been in the business a long time. "I'm Officer Remy Hart. I'm leadin' the investigation." He pointed to the couch and armchairs. "Won't you have a seat? We'd like to ask you all a few questions."

As the bears found places to sit, the other three officers came up and introduced themselves as Officer Spike, Officer Perry, and Officer Stone. All were human, save for Officer Stone, a dark-furred bear who explained that he was part of the force because tracking and criminal minds were his specialty.

Stone was the first to speak. "So, you're the _Country Bears_. Wow, I can't wait to tell Jewel that I got to meet her all-time favorite band," he said with a slight smile. "Though I wish it wasn't under these circumstances. You're pretty much all she and Beary talk about."

The Bears just stared at him in surprise. Trixie quietly gasped; she recognized him right away. Lowering her head, she hoped he wouldn't notice her.

It didn't work, of course. He saw her and his eyes widened. He was about to say something, but Trixie made a slashing movement across her neck, telling him to shut it. He nodded minutely.

"You know Beary?" Henry asked, staring at the other bear in surprise.

"Why, sure! He's my daughter's best friend! He used to come over all the time, but now... Most of his time has been taken up by homework, practice, and family. We haven't seen him much since Jewel's birthday party four months ago. Well, except for weekends." He sighed when he noticed their stunned expressions; clearly they hadn't realized just how much Beary had given up to play with them.

"But," he continued, "when he did come over, wow… You've never seen a better couple of singers. Well, other than the _Bears_, that is," he added with a smile. "They would play their instruments and sing their _Country Bear_ songs, along with a couple that they wrote-which aren't that bad, actually." He laughed, "Those two are the only ones who can get my son to take a nap in the afternoon without an argument."

Allison laughed as she remembered the time she had gone over to the Stone's to pick up Beary one afternoon. "Oh, yes! I remember that! They sing to him!" Her tears stopped falling. "They call each other CBB and CBJ, right?"

"_Country Bear_ Beary and _Country Bear_ Jewel," Officer Stone answered. "Yep, they've been calling each other that for years. It was their dream to be a part of the Bears. Or, at least meet them."

The _Bears'_ jaws dropped one by one. The other officers just watched in amusement. It was as if everyone in the room had forgotten why they were all there.

Officer Stone was about to go on when another knock at the door interrupted him.

Allison went and answered it. "Oh! Jewel!" she cried in surprise from the foyer. "Uh, what are you doing here?"

"Well, Beary didn't come back and get his guitar, so I brought it over when I saw the _Country Bear_ tour bus," a female voice answered. "Is Beary here still? I was under the impression that Henry was coming to pick him up. I would've come sooner, but Mom was stuck in a traffic jam for about two hours and I couldn't leave Jordan at home alone. She just got home, so I left Jordan with her and brought this over." She laughed. "I hope Beary didn't get into any trou-" the voice, now known as Jewel, broke off when the female bear cub walked into the living room, Beary's guitar being held in one paw.

The _Bears'_ jaws dropped once again as they took in the golden-furred cub in front of them. They looked between her and Trixie, who was diverting her eyes.

"Daddy?" Jewel asked, spotting Officer Stone, "what are you doing here?"

Tennessee's heart sank. '_Did Trixie… Did she have an affair?_' he wondered in sorrow. '_That cub looks exactly like her!_'

Just as Officer Stone was about to answer, Jewel gasped. "You're the_ Country Bears_!" she squealed in shock. As one, the _Bears_ leaned back in surprise. Jewel was about to start asking a bombardment of questions, when she looked around, finally noticing something was off. "Hey, wait a minute…" She did a quick head count. "Where's Beary?"

It was a question none of them wanted to answer. Each person [and bear] in the room felt guilty for forgetting why they had all gathered at the Barrington home.

Jewel's eyes widened. "_He_ got him, didn't he?" she whispered, awestruck. "Dang it! I told him to tell you all before something like this happened!"

"Jewel," James Stone began, "what are you talking about? Who's '_he_'?" Everyone in the room all listened closely, the other officers pulling out their notebooks to jot things down.

Jewel sighed. "Beary made me promise not to tell, but if he's in trouble, then I don't care." She paused. "He _is_ in trouble, isn't he?" Everyone nodded and she groaned. "CBB, you're _such_ an idiot," she muttered before sighing again.

"Since the beginning of second semester, Lil Bear—I mean, Beary has been receiving threatening letters. Death threats, actually…" She took in their horrified expressions before continuing. "The writer kept repeating, '_Find the Heart of the enemy, and you find their weakness. Destroy the Heart, and you destroy the enemy_'. In each of the letters was a picture of the _Country Bears_ and Mr. Taylor at their reunion concert. Beary was standing in the middle with…" She broke off.

"Jewel, go on," James Stone said, moving towards her. "It's imperative that we know." The Bears looked at her anxiously.

Jewel nodded briefly as she clutched Beary's guitar to her chest. "Beary was in the middle with a heart-shaped marking around his head. Underneath the image were always the words, '_The heart of the group_'," she finished with sob as her father wrapped his arms around her. "_He_'_s_ gonna kill him! _He_'_s_ gonna kill him because he brought the _Bears_ back together!" she cried. "I hate _BB_! I hate him!"

James immediately led his cub out of the room, leaving six horrified bears, three stunned police officers, and two devastated Barringtons in their wake.


	4. Chapter Three

.~*Chapter Three*~.

**The Nashville Tribune  
**Friday May 30, 2003  
**MISSING BEAR CUB!**  
**KIDNAPPING OF A _COUNTRY BEAR_!**  
**FULL STORY INSIDE!**

_Yesterday afternoon, at approximately 3:55 P.M., young Beary Barrington of the _Country Bears_ was kidnapped while walking home from a friend's house after school._

_The young cub was kidnapped for reasons unknown at this time._

_"I invited Henry in and had him come into the living room while we waited for Beary to arrive home from a friend's house," said Allison Barrington, Beary's adoptive human mother. "Beary was running late, you see. Anyway, just after Henry had sat down, the doorbell rang. So, while Norbert was talking with Henry I went to the front door and..." Mrs. Barrington wasn't able to go on._

_[for full story, see page two, _Kidnapped_]_

Thimple unfolded the newspaper so that the entire front page was showing. Underneath the main headline was another, featuring almost the same story. He grinned sadistically at the headline, images, and story.

**_COUNTRY BEARS_**** DEVASTATED!**

_As Henry Dixon Taylor pulled up outside of the Barrington home yesterday afternoon in order to bring young Beary to practice, he didn't expect to learn that the young cub had been kidnapped on his way home from a friend's house._

_"I certainly didn't expect this. None of us did," Mr. Taylor told reporter Grace Fridley. Before any more questions could be asked, the band manager went inside of the Hiber Nation Tour Bus and shut the door._

_Lead vocalist of the _Country Bears_, Ted Bedderhead, picked up the interview. "We are all very angry about this. There was no call for the kidnapping whatsoever."_

_When asked if he had any idea why the young cub had been taken, the lead singer didn't reply. However, another band member, Zeb Zoober, fiddler, spoke up. "Ma'am, Beary is like a little brother to all of us. I don't mean to sound rude, but we would like no more questions. His disappearance has hit us all hard."_

_"We will continue to offer our support to the Barrington family," Trixie St. Claire, keyboarder, added. "And we ask that you do not come and bother this family with interviews. They are suffering. We all are."_

_"After all, if it wasn't for Beary, we never would've gotten back together," Tennessee O'Neal, one-string thang player, commented._

_"Yeah, he's like the sticky honey that holds us all together," Fred Bedderhead, bassist and harmonica player, put in. "He's family to us."_

He crushed the paper angrily, his rage rekindled. Throwing the wad to the floor, he stood and paced around the room. "Where _is_ he? He should've finished off the brat and come back here!" he muttered angrily. He had this idea in his head: Leave Beary lying in a ditch near the highway and covered in brush. Then, a year later he'd be found, and the _Bears_, those wretched _Bears_, would be devastated.

The front door opened suddenly, and in walked a great black bear, whose thick fur was spotted with silver. He wore only a gray leather vest and baggy black shorts. He had hate-filled brown eyes. "I'm back," he growled as he dragged something through the door behind him.

Reed's eyes widened at the sight of the unconscious cub. "What have you done?" he yelled. "Why did you bring him here?"

"I don't have to answer to you," the bear growled. "I have my reasons… And my own revenge to commence against my _former_ best friend."

"What are you talking about?"

"None of your business. Let's just say that this cub is a _big_ part of it."

Thimple glared at him. "Where are you going to put him?"

"In the cellar."

The human studied the cub. "Why's he like that?" he asked after a minute.

The bear's eyes turned even colder than before. "Let's just hope that he dies from the coma he's currently in. That's how my boy died. And that's how _his_ boy is gonna."

Thimple didn't ask any more questions. He just watched quietly as the cub was dragged across the floor by the back of his jacket.

.~*The _Country Bears_*~.

AJ smacked on the brakes, bringing the car to a halt outside the Barrington home. The tires squealed, disapproving of the abrupt stop in their forward journey. Both teens jumped out, AJ barely remembering to lock the doors before they dashed up the walkway and through the open front door.

Dex dodged around Officer Stone, who was leading Jewel from the house, slipping along the wall as fast as he could. He took two steps into the living room, stopping dead when he saw everyone that was crowded in there. "Uh…hi, everyone…" he mumbled, cheeks reddening slightly. AJ stepped into the room behind him, more casual about his approach. The boy lifted one hand in greeting, his face somber.

Mumbled greetings met the two boys, everyone just as somber as them. "There was a train," Dex started to explain, licking his lips nervously. "We came as fast as we could. Did…did you guys find anything out?"

His mom was the first to speak. "Jewel just told us…" She took a shuddery breath, her eyes tearing up as she fought to keep her composure. "Jewel told us th…that Beary has…has been…" Tears began streaming down her face, the relentless salty drops falling freely. "He's been receiving death threats. He never…never said…anything…" Her hand covered her mouth as her shoulders began to shake, and—at least to Dex—it was blatantly obvious that she was horrified by the thought.

Who wouldn't be? His little brother, who was only in _middle school_, receiving death threats? What had the world come to? Beary couldn't really even be classified as a teenager yet. The fact that someone had kidnapped—no, _stolen _his baby brother enraged Dex. "They were _threatening _him?!" the teen exclaimed, his hands going into the air in anger. "Why didn't he tell anyone? He isn't _that_ stupid! He could have at least told _me_!"

His dad had moved to comfort his mom, the older man's arm around the crying woman's shoulders. "He only told Jewel," he replied, hand rhythmically rubbing his wife's arm. "We'll find him, Dex; we've got the best officers we can get on the case."

Dex wasn't comforted by the words. What if it was too late? If the people—bears, whatever—had meant harm to his younger brother, Beary could be dead by now. He could have been dead the second they grabbed him. If harm was wished upon someone, it wouldn't be hard to incur the injury. "They better hurry up," the teen muttered, turning abruptly and stalking to his room.

_.~*~._

_BAM._ The sound of his locker slamming shut had a certain finality to it; like he wouldn't open it again. Dex had cleaned it out earlier that day, so his book bag was laden with notebooks and pens, hanging heavily from one shoulder. The teen was so sick of hearing how sorry everyone was for his "family's troubles" or the "horrible crime" they had suffered. If they were _really_ sorry, they could get their butts out there and look for Beary.

Jamming his hand into his pocket, Dex trudged out of school. He had to head to the middle school to pick up Jewel. Nobody wanted to risk another kidnapping. Reaching his car, the teen pulled out the keys to the 2000 VW Golf, the black paint reflecting his image back at him. He unlocked the doors and tossed his heavy bag in the back seat, glad to be rid of the burden.

Starting the engine, he followed the line of cars out of the lot impatiently, gripping the steering wheel tight to keep from honking at the exasperating line. Finally he was free, driving down the road to yet another crowded lot. When he didn't see Jewel right off the bat, he parked and got out. She knew he was coming, so she shouldn't have started walking home. Locking the doors behind him, he strolled toward the school.

Finally, the she-cub caught his eye. She was facing off with Josh the jerk, and she was about as angry as Dex had ever seen her. He hurried over to the two pre-teens, arriving just in time to hear Josh telling Jewel he made "the wuss" run off. Dex immediately understood that the boy was talking about Beary.

Dex lunged for Jewel, who was raising her clenched paw. He held the cub back with an obvious effort. "Jewel," he grunted, digging his heels into the ground, "don't be stupid…" After a few moments he got the she-cub subdued enough to feel safe letting her go.

"That's right, Jewel, listen to big, tough Dex. He'll take good care of you," Josh sneered, a cocky smile gracing his face. He put his hands on his hips, raising one eyebrow. It was like he was taunting the two, daring them to do something. "Unlike how he managed to keep his dumbass brother safe," he added in, knowing that it would really rile Dex up.

It worked. Dex lunged around Jewel, balling his hand into a fist as he swung. His knuckles popped against Josh's face, blood spewing from the younger boy's nose. He'd have a black eye, too—that thought gave Dex a certain sense of satisfaction. "He didn't run from you, you coward," the teen snarled, pleased by the awestruck look on the other boy's face.

It was only there a moment, though. Josh swung out at Dex, his fist connecting with the other boy's jaw. The teen's head snapped to the side and he tasted blood. Glaring at the other boy, he shoved him back, balling his hands again. When the younger boy came at him again, Dex was ready. He punched the other boy in the jaw, managing to take the hit the other boy was trying to land on his shoulder instead of his head. They continued sparring like that until they were yanked apart, the teen allowing himself to be yanked away. Josh, however, kept fighting against it, screaming out profanities aimed at both Dex and Beary, and even a few at Jewel, who had simply been watching the two. She smiled in grim satisfaction as the two boys were led inside, the teachers that had separated them telling them they had better get along while they waited for their parents.

The she-cub trailed inside after them. After all, how else was she supposed to get home? Her ride just got sent to the principal's office.

_.~*~._

Needless to say, Dex was banned from the middle school and was sentenced an in-school suspension. It did not really do much, anyway, for it was a shortened day. School let out the next day for the summer.

He had been grounded by his parents for fighting; however, he had received secret high-fives from the _Bears_ and Roadie.

Three days later, still no word had been heard from Beary, his kidnappers, or this "BB" person.

The police searched high and low, but nothing came up. No one spotted the van, and no hits came up for the license plate number, which they had gotten from Jewel once she had calmed down. However, she'd only been able to give them three digits.

The summer tour kick off had been postponed until further notice, though the _Bears_ didn't really care. They wouldn't have been able to concentrate on the music anyway. They were too busy blaming themselves for Beary's disappearance.

Jewel Stone fell into a depression that even singing her favorite _Country Bears_ songs could not cure. Jordan couldn't understand where "Beawy" was and constantly asked his parents, but received no answer. Tasha was in a state of shock; she was fearful for her children and refused to let them out of the house unless she or James were there with them.

Dex hardly came out of his room except for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He and Beary had become much closer over the past year. Allison cooked constantly. Norbert just tried to keep a level head... and tried to find a home for the continuous stream of pies that were being cooked.

The _Bears_ remained in the tour bus outside of the Barrington home, offering their support to the family. Ted was grumpier than usual; Zeb just about went back to drinking—a quick hiding of any honey stopped that; Fred just tried to think of ways to cheer everyone up but was failing miserably at it; Tennessee and Trixie just sat in the back of the bus, taking comfort in each other and praying for the cub's safe return; Roadie stayed in the guest bedroom of the Barrington home at the insistence of Allison.

However, nothing, _nothing_ compared to Henry's absolute silence. He would not talk; he would not eat; he would not drink; _hell_, he barely left his armchair on the bus! He would just sit in silence, ignoring the world.

The _Bears_ knew that he saw Beary as a son and blamed himself for the cub's disappearance. He had even said that if he hadn't of gone along with Beary's plan to get the band back together, none of this would have happened in the first place.

The third day after Beary's initial disappearance found Henry sitting in his armchair on the bus, staring into space. His mind was drifting back in time, a little more than eleven years into the past. He was re-living the night his mate had disappeared, taking their unborn cub with her.

He had searched high and low for her and his unborn cub, only to find out, three years later, that his wife, Helen, had been killed in some kind of accident. The police had told him that his cub had probably died with her, but the cub had never been found. Even if the cub had somehow survived the accident, there was no way it could've survived on its own.

That's how he _chose_ to think about it. He didn't want to remember the truth that it was _he_ who made Helen leave for her own safety. Unfortunately, it didn't always work. He would always remember the truth.

She was found and killed by the very _thing_ Henry had made her go into hiding from, leaving the three-year-old cub to fend for himself.

'_But he _wasn't_ alone,_' Henry thought sadly. '_He was found and adopted by a human family, who raised him as their own son._' His memories shifted forward in time, to when he had first met Beary Barrington…

**Flashback**

_His ears pricked and his eyes widened slightly at the sound of a coin landing in a tin can._

_"Oh, like _**that's**_ gonna help," Reed Thimple said sarcastically as he made his way to his black corvette, quickly driving off._

_Henry sighed and looked at the "_Tours for Twenty-Five Cents_" sign and the tin can attached to it. He sighed again when he saw a cub standing there, its back to him. The cub was helping Big Al with a "_Pardon Our Dust_" sign and freaking out about _Country Bear Hall_ being "destroyed." _

_'_Great… I have to talk to a ki-'_ his thoughts were frozen when the cub turned around and revealed a brown face so light that it almost appeared white in color and hazel eyes. He wore a gray jacket, blue shirt and baggy green shorts. One of his light brown paws was wrapped around a guitar neck, and on his back was a backpack._

_It was the face, though, that startled Henry the most. It was a mirror image of his late mate, Helen, who had disappeared some years ago with Henry's unborn cub. '_It couldn't be…_' Okay, maybe no disappear so much as went into hiding._

_As the aged bear stared at the much younger bear cub, the boy looked around for a moment before walking towards him. The cub then asked him the strangest question._

_"Are you okay?"_

_Henry was pulled out of his thoughts with a start. "Huh?"_

_"I asked if you were okay," the cub replied, stopping on the bottom step. "You were staring for nearly a minute."_

_Even his tone reminded Henry of Helen. Henry shook his head slightly, shaking off her memory. "I'm fine, kid. You just… reminded me of someone, that's all," he quickly answered._

_"Oh," the younger bear replied as he scratched the back of his head nervously._

_Henry spoke again, hoping to make the kid less nervous. "My name's Henry Taylor. What's yours?"_

_"Beary Barr-" the cub broke off and looked down. "It's Beary… Just…Beary…"_

_The answer surprised Henry. That name. It had to be him! But where had he been all this time? Henry briefly wondered why the cub wouldn't tell him his last name, but knew that it would do him no good in asking. The cub would probably just run off. And, judging by the backpack, he was probably a runaway. _'Wonder why the kid would leave his… family… if he has one, that is,'_ he thought. "Well," he began, changing the subject, "Beary, you paid for a tour, so let's get started, shall we?"_

_Beary's eyes immediately lit up, causing the aged bear to smile. He knew he had made the right choice…_

**End Flashback**

Henry had to smile at the memory. Beary had been so innocent at the time, and so easy to please. Eager, too. He reminded Henry so much of Helen. They had actually ended up comparing notes on the _Bears_, as well. He had never seen someone who knew so much about them, other than himself, Big Al, and the _Bears_ themselves.

Then Beary brought up the idea about bringing the band back together. Henry knew it would never happen, so he tried to let the cub down gently, but Beary just wouldn't stop. Finally Henry had basically yelled at him. It hurt him to see the young bear so downcast after that. He couldn't handle standing there, watching as the kid tried to not cry at the older bear's harsh tone, so he went to talk to Big Al.

Big Al had, in his own little way, told him that anything was possible. Henry still wasn't sure, so he went up to the balcony in the _Hall_, where he could've sworn he heard and saw the band playing on the stage. The Hall was filled with music and cheering crowds once more. He had begun nodding his head to the music, but reality quickly set in, and the memory faded.

But he had still heard the music.

"_I'll always see your face  
The corner of your smile  
And all the little things that  
no one will ever know_

_"Like it was yesterday  
Won't ever fade away  
Goodbye is just a word  
That I will never say"_

_You will never be forgotten  
A million days could pass us by  
But what is time  
But just a dream_

_"Oh I still feel you  
Here with me  
You're more than a memory  
Oh you will never be forgotten"_

Henry started and opened his eyes. '_That's not what Beary was singing when I found him out by the pond… But that is his voice, along with another's… Where's that coming from?_' he wondered. His ears pricked as he continued to listen.

"Hey, you guys hear that?" Zeb asked, looking up from where he sat.

"Shh!" Ted shushed, trying to quiet him, but it was too late.

The music had stopped.

"What the heck was that?" Tennessee questioned after a few minutes when the music didn't continue.

"Maybe it was from a passing car?" Trixie suggested.

Everyone just shrugged their shoulders. Everyone but Henry. He actually got up and left the bus, much to everyone's surprise.

"Does anyone else think we just missed something here?" the female asked, looking from one bear to the next.

Zeb sighed. "I don't know about anybody else, but I personally think Henry's got the right idea. I'm tired of just sittin' here," he grumbled, getting up and following the manager off the bus. The others just watched him leave and the bus fell into silence once more.

Trixie couldn't take it anymore. She had been keeping a secret for so long, and it was eating her up inside. She didn't want another family torn up because of secrets. She knew that that was what happened to Henry, and he had lost his cub because of it.

**Flashback**

_"Hey, Henry?" Trixie asked as she covered the now sleeping Beary up with a blanket. The cub was lying on the bed in the way back of the bus; Trixie had told him to sleep there for the night, saying that she would sleep somewhere else. Beary had tried to argue, but Trixie wouldn't hear it. None of the other _Bears_ dared argue with the female. They had all been on the receiving end of at least one of her lectures at one time or another._

_Henry watched her tuck the cub in for a moment before answering. "What is it, Trix?"_

_The female bear walked up the front of the bus where Fred, Tennessee, Zeb, Henry, Roadie, and Mr. Chicken were at. They were on their way to find Ted Bedderhead. She sat down next to Tennessee on the bench. "So, Beary's yours and Helen's cub, right? That's why you brought him along? Why didn't you bring Helen? I wanted to talk to her again."_

_Henry spit out the water he had been drinking, covering Zeb with the spray._

_"Gee, thanks," Zeb muttered, wiping himself off. "I needed that." The others laughed quietly so as to not wake the sleeping cub._

_"Sorry, Zeb," Henry said, handing the former honeyaholic a towel. Zeb took it and began to dry himself off. The former band manager let out a sigh. "No, Beary's not my cub," he said carefully, trying to avoid the subject of Helen. "Honestly? I don't know _who_ he is. I think he's a runaway. He won't even tell me his last name or where he's from."_

_The other bears just stared at him in shock. "But, when the band broke up, wasn't Helen expectin' a cub?" Tennessee asked, completely missing the fact that Henry had brought along a runaway. "He looks so much like her!"_

_"You forgot that she has a twin brother that looks exactly like her, too," Henry commented._

_"Don't tell me she lost it!" Trixie gasped. She knew what it was like to lose a cub, even if it wasn't from miscarriage._

_Henry shook his head and became quiet. After a few minutes of silence, he finally spoke. "I never met the cub, if it was even born," he said quietly. For some reason, he sounded nervous._

_The _Bears_ looked at each other for a moment before looking back at their former manager. "Wha' do ya mean, Hen?" Fred finally asked._

_Henry closed his eyes and leaned back. "What I mean is… She took off, taking the unborn cub with her."_

_Zeb stopped drying himself off and stared at the heartbroken bear in shock. "Why didn't ya chase her down?" he asked. He couldn't believe Helen would do something like that. It just wasn't in her nature!_

_"You don't think I didn't try?" Henry growled, startling them all. He let out another sigh and whispered, "When I finally tracked her down… it was too late…" He hated lying to them, but they could not know the truth._

_Trixie studied him for a moment before asking, "What happened?"_

_"She was involved in some kind of accident. They never found the cub, so it was presumed that it died with her."_

_Roadie, who was driving and listening, nodded at what he had said. He had been there when the police had come to Henry and told him the devastating news. He had seen how badly the bear had reacted. In fact, he and Big Al had had their paws full a while, trying to keep the heartbroken widower from doing something stupid, like trying to commit suicide. He had been there when Henry put away all the pictures he had of Helen, trying to erase her memory._

_The bus filled with silence as Henry refused to say any more…_

**End Flashback**

Even though she never fully learned what had made Helen leave Henry, she knew she had to tell the truth about why she had left Tennessee. She had noticed that Tennessee had barely been talking to her for the past three days. She knew she had to tell him the truth. Turning her head, she brought her mouth close to Tennessee's ear and whispered, "Jewel _is _my cub."

Tennessee's light brown eyes widened and he jumped into the air as if he'd been shot, shouting, "WHAT?"

Ted and Fred just stared at the two in surprise. Tennessee's outburst had caused them to jump. "Uh, are ya okay, Tennessee?" Fred asked.

Tennessee just stood there in shock, his jaw hanging open. Trixie sighed and turned to the two brothers. "Hey, can you two leave us alone for a moment? We need to talk about something," she said.

Ted merely nodded as he and Fred made their way off the bus. Roadie had been staying in the guest room in the Barrington home, so he wasn't a problem.

Trixie stood up and took Tennessee's paw in her own. "Tennessee," she began. "I wanted to tell you so many times, but…"

"You went and had a cub and you didn't bother to tell me?" Tennessee growled, not looking at her. His anger was overwhelming, causing him to not think about what he was saying. "How could you?"

"Tennes-"

He cut her off. "Was it with that police officer? Is that why you couldn't tell me?" he asked, beginning to pace back and forth.

"No, but-"

"But nothin'! First, you run away, and now I learned why! You shacked up with a police officer!"

Trixie's heart was breaking at his hurtful words. "W-Would you just list-"

"NO! Why should I?"

Trixie grabbed his arm. "TENNESSEE! SHE'S _YOUR_ CUB!" she shouted.

Tennessee turned to her, his eyes wide. "W-what?"

Trixie wrapped her arms around herself. "Jewel is _your_ cub… No one else's," she whispered. "I was going to tell you when I first found out, but then the band were breaking up… You were in such a bad mood… I was scared of how you would take it, so I left."

"Jewel? You mean Beary's best friend… is my daughter?" Tennessee whispered back, sitting down on the bench. He leaned forward, as if he was trying to fight nausea.

Trixie just smiled and laughed. "Yes, Tennessee, Jewel is your cub."

"How?"

"Are you serious? Don't you remember that night, eleven years ago? Just before I went to Tasha's wedding?"

The brown bear's fur warmed considerably as he remembered. He looked back up at her, a frown on his face. "Then where does the cop come in?"

"James? You've met him, Tennessee." He still looked confused, causing her to sigh in exasperation. "You remember that Tasha's my sister, right?" Trixie asked.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"James is Tasha's mate. Don't know how you forgot that, but then again, you never met him… I went to them after I left you. They agreed to take care of her-"

A sudden opening of the door startled them both. Roadie ran into the bus and all but shouted, "They found the kidnapper's van!"


	5. Chapter Four

.~*Chapter Four*~.

"They what?" both bears gasped.

Roadie repeated what he had said and quickly led the way to the house, where they found Officer James Stone and his partner, Officer Hart, standing in the living room. Almost everyone was there: The Barringtons—of course—Henry, the Bedderhead brothers, Zeb, even Tasha Stone was there—after finding a sitter for Jordan and Jewel, that is.

Much to the other's surprise, Trixie went over to Tasha and gave her a hug. "It's good to see you again, Tasha," she whispered.

"I was wondering when you would come and say 'hello', Trix," Tasha replied. "It's been too long since I've seen my sister."

Zeb's eyes boggled. "You're her sister?" he exclaimed, pointing from Tasha to Trixie. "You look nothin' alike!"

Both sisters glanced at him in amusement. "Zeb, you forgot me?" Tasha asked with a playful frown. "I would've thought with me yelling at you all the time, for one reason or another, you would've remembered me." She frowned and glanced at the mirror. "Of course, I'm no longer eighteen…" She'd been eighteen the last time she'd seen any of them, other than Trixie. She had gone off to college.

James just smiled and cleared his throat. "Uh, if we could continue?" Everyone took a seat and he continued, his smile turning into a frown. "Like I said, we discovered the kidnapper's van. And a few items."

"Like Beary's backpack," Officer Hart cut in. "It was rather heavy due to a large number of textbooks. Why he had that many textbooks is beyond me," he added with a chuckle. His chuckle quickly ended, though, as he continued. "We also found out how they managed to capture the young bear without much of a struggle, as well."

"Like what?" Henry asked.

"Tranquilizer darts. Four of 'em. All empty," James answered with a growl. "Two inches long."

"They really must've wanted him to stop strugglin'," Hart commented, adding a quiet swear word to the end of his sentence.

"What do you mean?" Dex asked, even though he had a vague idea.

"Well, two darts of that size would bring down a bear of Trixie's or Mr. Zoober's size. Three darts of that size would bring down a bear of Mr. O'Neal's size. No offense," Hart added, seeing the glare Tennessee shot him. Clearing his throat, he went on. "Four darts of that size would bring down a bear of Mr. Bedderhead's size." Both Bedderheads glanced at him in confusion. Quickly seeing his mistake, Hart corrected himself. "Mr. Fred Bedderhead."

"Your point being…?" Dex questioned.

"Only one would've been needed to knock a cub of Beary's size," Hart growled.

James took over. "Idiots gave him three doses too many."

"You mean-" Henry gasped.

Both officers glanced at each other for a moment before looking at the assembled group. "We'll be lucky if the cub's still alive," James said gravely. "A mistake like that could've very well killed him."

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

He slowly blinked, letting his vision clear. It did little good, however, as everything was pitch black. His head ached something terrible. Placing a paw on his head, he slowly uncurled (briefly wondering why he was curled up in the first place), sat up and winced when his head hit something above him.

Placing his paws above him, he discovered that there was a really low ceiling. "What the-" he tried to say, but it came out as nothing more than a mumble. He couldn't open his snout. Lowering his paws from the low ceiling to his snout, he discovered that it was tightly bound shut.

Beginning to panic, he tried pulling the muzzle off, only to find that it was strapped around his head as well. Feeling the strap on the back of his head, his wrist brushed against something on his neck. Eyes widening, he felt the thing and found…

A collar. A collar with a chain.

Pulling against the chain, he found it to be a short leash attached to a barred wall. He felt around and let out a whimper.

He was in a cage. Muzzled and on a leash in a cage! He was locked up in a cage like a common animal!

Suddenly the events came back to him. Being pulled into the van, needles being shoved into his neck, calling out for help… Then, nothing.

Wrapping his arms around his knees, he let out another whimper. A whimper that quickly turned to muffled sobs as tears turned his cheek fur wet.

He didn't know where he was, or why he was there. All he wanted was to go home.

A door suddenly opened and bright light streamed in, causing him to let out a muffled cry as he closed his eyelids against the sudden brightness.

"Hello, bear," a strangely familiar voice growled. "I'm glad to see that you're still alive. I was rather worried there for a while."

Beary tried to respond, but then he remembered the muzzle. He slowly opened his eyelids, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light. He saw a figure standing outside the cage, but couldn't see much else. His vision was blurry, making it difficult to see the figure clearly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. It would appear that you are still recovering from the side effects of the tranquilizer darts. Well, you were out for almost a week," the figure said with a chuckle.

Beary couldn't figure out what was so funny about being asleep for a week. '_Wait… A week? How the he-_'

"Oh, well," the figure went on. "Guess this means you won't try escaping any time soon. It would be a shame to have to kill you." The figure paused, causing Beary to wonder what was going on. "You know, I wanted you dead, but I can't seem to kill you."

Beary's eyes widened at what was being said. He cowered back against the corner of the cage, only to let out a muffled yell when a jolt of electricity coursed through his body, emanating from his shoulders.

The figure—Beary now decided that it was a man—laughed cruelly. "Now that you're awake, the bars have been enforced with electricity to prevent escape. You so much as touch them and you'll get a painful jolt. So I wouldn't touch them… Or go to sleep, little bear." The laughing stopped and the man's voice filled with promise. "You will regret ever crossing me, cub. You will pay for your mistakes. Maybe, if you're good, I'll move you out of the cage."

Beary was filled with fear and confusion. What had he done to upset the man?

"Confused are you? Well, let me clarify it for you. You became the Heart of my enemy. You brought them back together when I was so close to destroying their former home. However, young bear, they are the reason why you are now held captive! If they hadn't ruined my life twenty-one years ago, you wouldn't be in this predicament you are in now! So you can blame them! You can blame the _Country Bears_!"

With that, the man stalked out of the room, slamming the door closed behind him and leaving the room filled with darkness once more.

'_What was he talking about?_' Beary wondered as he let his eyes adjust once more to the darkness. '_What does he mean that I can blame the_ Country Bears_? What'd the gang ever do to him?_' He scooted towards the middle of the cage, gagging slightly when the chain attached to his collar pulled tight. The cage was barely big enough for him to sit up, let alone spread his legs out. The only thing he could basically do was curl up into a ball, lay in the middle of the cage floor, close his eyes, and pray that when he opened them again, this would all be a horrible nightmare and he would be back home.

But it was not to be. Somehow he just knew that he may never go home again.

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

Jewel Stone sat on her windowsill cushion, looking out the window at the pouring rain falling from the night sky with sad, forest green eyes. Cradled in a golden paw was a picture of her and Beary, laughing and sitting side-by-side near the pond in her backyard. It had been taken only three weeks ago, and she had rushed to have it developed.

"Beary," she whispered while tracing the image of her missing friend with a dark green-painted claw, "where are you? I don't care what Mom and Dad say; I know you're still alive!" She pulled her long, black robe, with an emerald pattern, tighter around her furry body and felt a tear slip down her furry cheek. It had been almost two weeks since his initial disappearance and about a week and three days since the discovery of the van and the tranquilizer darts.

_"Don't cry, Jewel. You're the strong one, remember?"_

She looked up with a start. She could've sworn she just heard… "Beary?" she whispered, wiping away her tears.

_"Who else? This isn't like you, Gram Cracker. Usually you're the one who jumps into the action, not sit back and cry when something goes wrong."_

Jewel swung her legs over the bench-seat. "You're right. What am I doing?" she questioned. "I… I should be out looking for you, Lil Bear." She got off the bench and went over to her bed, where she grabbed her backpack. She then proceeded to fill it with a couple pairs of clothes, a jar of money, her black scrapbook that held images of her and Beary, and the picture she had been holding. Once it was somewhat full, she zipped it up and put it on her back. She turned to her desk and hastily scribbled a note.

Quietly as she could, she snuck out of her room and down the hallway, careful not to wake up her sleeping parents or her baby brother. Once downstairs, she went into the kitchen and quietly grabbed some snacks and stuffed them in her backpack. Once she was done with that, she grabbed a rain coat, carefully and quietly opened the backdoor and slipped outside into the pouring rain.

Though slightly annoyed that the fur on her head was getting soaked, the golden cub slipped out the front gate to the driveway; from there she went down to the street and began to walk away.

She didn't look back as she quietly hummed a song to herself.

_Sometimes it's just the goin'  
You've got to go  
And you don't even know  
If it's the right thing to do._

_Nobody else can be showin'  
Which way to go  
And you're not even sure  
Of where you're goin' to._

_But it's a start  
In your heart_

'_I'm coming for you, Beary._'

.~*The _Country Bears_*~.

Tasha yawned and stretched her dark-furred arms over her head. Glancing at the clock on her nightstand, she grimaced. 7:30. "I overslept!" She quickly got out of bed and walked over to her closet, where she grabbed a forest green robe and pulled it on; she'd get dressed later. She then tied it around the middle and made her way downstairs, not noticing that Jewel's room door was open—it was never open at that time; Jewel was never up until 7:45.

Making her way through the living room and into the kitchen, she looked around in surprise. Breakfast was already made and laid out on the table.

"Now, who on Earth…?"

"I hope I didn't make a mess, Tasha. I'm just not that familiar with your kitchen."

Tasha jumped in surprise at the voice of her golden-furred sister, Trixie, who was smiling up a storm. "Trix!" she gasped, placing a paw over her chest. "Don't surprise me like that!"

"Sorry, sis. I forgot how easily I can frighten you," Trixie laughed. "Though, you would think you'd be the better one at scaring people since you blend in better."

"Oh, hush up, Sunshine. After calming down somewhat, Tasha sat down at the table and gestured for her ten-year-older sister to do the same. "So, what's the special occasion?" she asked, picking up a cup of coffee.

Trixie's eyes lowered. "I… I was hoping I could talk to Jewel… To tell her the truth about why I left her here."

Tasha took a sip and sighed. "You sure this is the best time? Right now she's emotionally unstable. She lost her best friend and doesn't know if she'll ever see him again. You telling her the truth might just send her over."

Trixie looked down. "I know that, but I've been thinking about for a while now, and-"

"If Beary hadn't gone missing, would you've come down here and told her?" Tasha asked.

Her question startled Trixie. "Of course I…" she broke off as the full meaning of the question hit her. Would she have come down here? She had all year… And she never came to see her little girl. When she had left her with Tasha and James, she never looked back, though she cried about it every night. And then when she finally had her chance, she hadn't done anything about it. Maybe this was a bad idea after all.

"Mama?" a sleepy voice asked. Both female bears looked at the small four-year-old black-furred cub in surprise.

"Who's this?" Trixie asked as Tasha got up and picked up her cub. "He's adorable!"

"This is my son Jordan," Tasha answered with a meaningful glare. She sat back down and looked at her cub. "Jordy, this is your Aunt Trixie."

"Aunt Twixie?" Jordan asked, rubbing his small nose with his paw.

"That's right, little one," Trixie answered, her eyes not meeting Tasha's. "I'm your Aunt Trixie."

Jordan smiled at her. "You look mow wike Jewel zan Mommy and Daddy does," he commented.

Both sisters glanced at each other for moment before Tasha spoke again. "Jordy, can you go wake up your sis- Jewel? We need to talk to her."

"Jewel's aweady awake, Mama. She not in her woom."

The little bear's answer startled the older bears, who both stood up in confusion. "What do you mean 'she's not in her room'?" Tasha asked, making her way to the stairs.

"I go to wake her up and I saw her woom doow open. She not in her woom," Jordan yawned. "Isn't she down hew?"

The older bears immediately charged up the stairs to Jewel's room and found it just like Jordan had said it was. Tasha handed the young cub to Trixie and went over to Jewel's desk. Picking up a piece of paper that had been written on, she gasped as she silently read:

_I'm sorry, Mama, but I have to find my best friend. I'll be careful. Love always, Jewel._

"Tasha? What is it?" Trixie asked, shifting the small cub's weight in her arms.

Tasha turned to her older sister and cried, "She left! She went to find Beary!"

Trixie let out a pained wail and sank to the floor, still holding Jordan in her arms.


	6. Chapter Five

**.~*Chapter Five*~.**

_"The search is on for another missing eleven-year-old bear cub. Jewel Stone, who was last seen in her room the night before, disappeared in the middle of the night to, apparently, look for her missing best friend, Beary Barrington, who went missing almost two weeks ago._

_"It is unknown at this time whether there was any foul play in the disappearance of Miss Stone, but search parties were sent out immediately. Nothing has been found so far. Jewel's mother had this to say."_

_"Jewel, this is Tasha. Come home, baby! Please, please come home!"_

Ted switched off the TV, not wanting to hear any more. It confused him as to why Beary's friend would run off when both families were hurting so much already. '_Stupid, is what it is… Darn foolish cub,' he thought in annoyance. 'She's just like… She's just like Beary…_'

He glanced out the window at Henry, who had been spending more time off the bus and on the front porch of the Barrington home. At least the band manager was eating now, even if it was only a little bit (by bear standards, that is). He just hoped Henry would be all right.

The lead singer found his thoughts being haunted by when he had first met Beary… Well, learned his name, at least…

**Flashback**

_"What- What- What- What makes you think I'd get back together with you guys?" Ted growled angrily, staring his former friends down._

_The group in front of him all turned their heads to look at Henry, who raised a paw and began to speak before giving up with a sigh. What was the point of even trying to explain his reasons? It had been just a hopeless dream._

_"Look, that's where I started out," Ted continued, trying to stay calm. "I'm not goin' back. When I said I was finished, I meant it. I'm finished!"_

_"But," a cub said, stepping forward._

_Ted let out an annoyed growl and glared at him._

_"Mr. Bedderhead, we… we need everyone to make this happen, and we need you!"_

_The others nodded at the cub's words._

_Ted shook his head. "Now, listen, kid. Uh-" he broke off in confusion and looked at the others questioningly. "Who is this guy?" For a moment, he felt like he knew him, from a dream or something._

_They all answered him at the same time, almost as if it had been rehearsed. "That's Beary!"_

_Ted paused for a moment. "Ah…no, no, no, no…" He wasn't going to bother asking them anymore. _'The cub looks like Helen, so it must be Henry's kid. Is it possible this is the cub I met all those years ago? Looks old enough, anyway. Nah,_' he thought to himself. _'I'm just lucky Henry didn't bring her along. I would be screwed._' Out loud, he said, "That was a long time ago, kid. Things change." He looked at the others. "Frankly, your little nostalgic fieldtrip, you know, it's kinda pathetic."_

_Henry sighed. "Well, maybe it was. I'm sorry to have bothered you, Ted." He really did look pathetic in that moment. He had gathered up all his hope that Ted might come back, and now…?_

_Tennessee placed his paws on Beary's shoulders, trying to comfort the heartbroken cub._

_The former lead singer went on. "People are waitin' for me. Now, you found your way in, so you can find your way out!" Ted huffed, turned, and walked in the opposite direction._

_Roadie spoke loudly, "That guy's turned into a real-" A squawk from Mr. Chicken cut out the rest. He let out a sigh. "I'm gonna go get the bus."_

_"My mistake everyone," Henry said. "Don't know what I was thinking."_

"_Sure you did. You just didn't remember that Ted's such an ass," Zeb spoke up._

_Even as Ted was walking away, he could still hear the sad and dejected voice of the young cub. _

_"It's not your fault, Henry. It's mine. This whole thing was my idea." _

_He almost paused at the remark, but continued walking when he heard Tennessee begin blubbering about it being "his" fault. Trixie quickly shut him up. _'Ugh… Same old Country Bears…_' he thought in disgust as he hurried to get to the stage for his song. The life of a wedding singer was rather hectic, after all._

**End Flashback**

His thoughts fast-forwarded to the field, what Beary had said there, and what had happened afterwards…

**Flashback**

_As they got off the bus and walked through the fields, Ted asked, "Okay, have you rehearsed? What songs you gonna do? Who's doin' sound?"_

_"Well," Fred began. "We ain't exactly figured out all that yet, Ted." It was true, after all. They hadn't really discussed it. It was usually Ted that made all the decisions._

_Ted let out an exasperated sigh. "Same old _CountryBears_."_

_"Come on, Ted!" Zeb argued. "You do kinda owe us. I mean, I mean, you were the reason we broke up. You and that damn bitch, Esmeralda."_

_The black bear came to a halt. He turned and glared at the other three main members of the band before turning away and throwing his arms up into the air and growling, "Yep! There it is! Knew that was comin' up! Leave her out of it!" He turned back to them and said, "I'm the reason we stayed together, Zeb! Did any of you, any of you ever thank me?"_

_"We all had our jobs to do, Ted," Zeb pointed out. Fred and Tennessee nodded in agreement._

_Henry, Trixie, and Beary all hung back a few feet, watching and listening. They didn't like where this was headed. Henry and Trixie glanced at each other over Beary's head worriedly. It was just like how it was in the olden days: the band fighting over silly things._

_Ted surprised them all by agreeing. "Oh, right!" Pointing to Zeb, he said, "Drinkin'." He pointed to Tennessee, "Blubberin'." Pointing to Fred, his brother, he finished, "And starin' into space."_

_"Hey…" Fred pouted. He didn't like it when his older brother picked on him._

_"What we were was years ago," Ted added._

_"Blubberin'? I-I …" Tennessee began, looking around helplessly._

_Zeb turned to him. "Well, you were blubberin'!" he accused. He didn't want to talking about his drinking problem._

_Fred tried to break them up by putting his arms between them._

_"Yeah, yeah, okay there," Tennessee replied, frowning. It was true. He usually was crying. He was the more emotional of the bears. That's why the fangirls all loved him, which the others had always been jealous of._

_They began to argue between themselves with Fred caught in the middle. Henry tried to shut them up, but failed._

_Beary was the one who finally got them to listen. "He-Hey, you guys! Hey, hey, hey!"_

_Ted let out an exasperated sigh, shook his head, and looked down. He had just proven his point. Bunch of squabbling buffoons. _

_Beary just continued. "Hey! You guys!" Finally getting their attention, he continued, turning to Ted, "You know, in _**People**_ magazine, April 1983, you all said that the Bears were your family." Fred nodded in agreement. "And like a family-"_

_Ted abruptly cut him off. "Kid, that was just a bunch of meanin'less publicity! You don't know nothin' about the real Bears, understand? NOTHIN'!" he shouted. "We are not a family!"_

_The other bears in the field glared at Ted. They clearly didn't approve of his tone towards the cub. "Ted!" Trixie scolded._

_Hurt filled Beary's hazel green eyes as his ears flattened. "You're right…" he muttered, glancing at them all as he continued, "This isn't a family." He turned back to Ted, ignoring the surprised looks he was receiving from the others. "Cause the people who love you no matter what? That's your family…"_

_Ted's eyes widened slightly at the wisdom and meaning behind the words. The other Bears looked down in sadness, knowing that the cub's words rang true._

_"Who told you that, Beary?" Henry asked quietly as the cub let out a sad sigh._

_Beary turned to look at him. "My Dad."_

'Hm… I guess he's not Henry's kid after all,_' Ted thought in confusion. _'Then… who is he?_'_

_Beary's eyes widened and he gasped. "My Dad…!" _

_Ted watched in confusion as the cub looked at the others for a moment before turning and running past them all._

_"Wha- Wait a min- Hold on, Beary!" Henry called, trying to give chase, but knew it was fruitless. The cub didn't stop, but instead kept running._

_They all watched him go for a minute before the silence was interrupted._

_"Where's he off to?" Ted wondered aloud._

_Fred, Tennessee, and Zeb all glared at him angrily; Trixie wouldn't even look at him; and Henry just kept staring at the fleeing cub._

_"I can't believe you shouted at Beary!" Zeb growled in disgust._

_"What did he ever do to you?" Tennessee asked angrily._

_Trixie finally turned to look at her "leader". "He's just a baby compared to you!" she growled, a slight motherly tone in her voice._

_Fred didn't say anything; he just shook his head and looked away, showing Ted exactly just how disappointed he was with his older brother._

_Henry just glanced back at Ted for a moment before shaking his head as well and leading the way back to the bus. No point in pointing fingers. They had all disappointed the cub. _

_Trixie took Tennessee's paw in her own and led him back to the bus as well. Zeb put his paw on Fred's shoulder and, with a final glare at the older Bedderhead, he and Fred followed the others, leaving Ted standing there._

_Ted watched them go, feeling angry at himself. He still couldn't believe what he had done. _'Tennessee's right,_' he thought angrily. _'The cub's done nothing to me, and I shouted at him. I'm such an idiot! He's just a cub, after all._'_

_After a few minutes, Ted finally followed the others. As he boarded the bus, he could feel their angry glares on him. Trying to ignore them, he sat down across from his younger brother, who was in the middle of the bus, and a few feet away from Zeb, who was sitting across from Henry at the front of the bus. Roadie was outside, taking care of business._

_Fred let out a sigh when he saw a dark teal backpack lying on a table. Curious, he opened it and pulled out Beary's _Country Bears _scrapbook. "Aw… Beary left his stuff… huh?" He pulled out a piece of paper from the scrapbook and set the book back onto the backpack. It slipped off the backpack and landed on the floor in an upright position. Fred didn't notice, though, as he leaned back and began to read aloud. "'My _Hero, by Beary Barrington, 4th grade._" The others turned to look at him. "_Myhero is really heroes, and my heroes… are the _Country Bears.'"_

_Zeb let out a sad, pained sigh and closed his eyes. Ted glanced at his brother and listened as he read._

_Fred continued, "_'Whenever I'm sad, I play one of their songs and I forget why I was even sad at all. And if you've met my brother, you'd know why I was always sad._'"_

_Ted's eyes narrowed slightly at the double meaning of those words. They applied to both him and Fred. He knew that Fred was still disappointed with him, even if he didn't want to show it._

_"_'I can't really say Zeb is my hero, or Fred, or Ted, or even Tennessee. But, as the _Country Bears_, what they can do together, makes them my heroes_.'"_

_Henry looked up for a moment before looking back down. He knew that what Beary wrote was true._

_Fred flipped the paper over and continued. "_'I'd like to meet them someday. That would be cool_.'" Fred paused for a moment. "Says here, '_A+, but is everything about the_', uh, 'Country Bears?'" He looked at the others for a moment._

_Roadie came up into the bus. He had been listening from outside. "Beary's a sharp little guy. This morning he told me something else," he said. The others looked at him questioningly, and he went on with a smile. "Mr. Chicken… is a girl."_

_The Bears let out exasperated sighs while Trixie just laughed at the absurdness of it all. Roadie hopped into the driver's seat and started the engine. Smoothly, the bus moved down the country lane._

_The silence that followed was deafening. Finally, Ted couldn't take it any longer. "Okay, okay… I know what I did is wrong, and… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout, but…" They glanced at him for a moment before turning away, their expressions telling him that they weren't convinced with his apology. He paused for a moment before his curiosity got the better of him. "There is one thing I'd like to know…" When the others didn't respond, he sighed. "Who's Beary?" he finally asked, his voice sounding gruff._

_The other's looked at him in surprise. "Huh?" Fred asked._

_Ted sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Uh… Who is Beary?" he asked again, this time his voice softer and questioning. He looked from one bear to the next. "I'm, uh… I'm curious as to who he is… and what he was doin' with y'all. What's his story?"_

_Zeb smirked. "Actually, uh…" He broke off and looked at Henry. "What was he doin' with you, Henry? You never exactly told us that."_

_Henry actually smiled. "Beary's the reason that we're all here, now. It was his idea to have the benefit show to save _Country Bear Hall_."_

_"What do you mean, 'save it'?" Tennessee asked. "What aren't you tellin' us?"_

_Henry sighed. "I got a little behind on the payments…"_

_"Uh, how much, Hen?" Fred questioned. "What payments?"_

_"Six… years…" the older bear muttered, ignoring the second question. "$20,000…"_

_Each bears' eyes widened in shock. "$20,000?" Zeb exclaimed. "That's way worse than the $500 I owed Cha-Cha!"_

_Ted, Tennessee, and Trixie all glanced at the former drinker in confusion. "Cha-Cha?" Trixie asked at the same time Tennessee questioned, "$500?"_

_"I'll… uh… I'll tell you later," Zeb said with a nervous chuckle while he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment._

_Ted knew he had done something stupid in ignoring Henry's general plea for him to come with them and play in the band. '_If I had just listened to what he had to say_,' he thought in annoyance. '_After all, I could've spared a little time in helping them save the_ Hall._ That's all they wanted…_'_

_Henry went on. "After the band broke up and… and Helen disappeared, I had a hard time making ends meet, ya know? I fell behind and now… Without this here benefit concert, Big Al, Roadie, and I are gonna have to find somewhere else to live, cause the banker is gonna have the place torn down."_

_"That's terrible!" Trixie exclaimed at the same time Ted asked, "What happened to Helen?"_

_Fred kicked him from across the aisle._

_Henry sighed again, avoiding their gazes. "The reason Helen left… is because the money began to run out. I didn't tell her at first, but when she found out…" Each bear winced. They all knew of Helen's temper; it was something they all feared. Henry went on, "She didn't want to raise the cub at the _Hall_, believing that we wouldn't have any money in a few years anyway. We got into an argument about it… and she left that night… I never saw her again."_

_Ted, who was still in the dark, questioned, "Whatever happened to the cub, then?" He let out a pained yelp. "Ow- will you stop kickin' me!" he growled at his younger brother._

_Henry just looked away, but not quick enough to hide the pained look on his face. "I… I don't know…"_

**End Flashback**

'_Now that I think about it_,' Ted thought, _'that look on Henry's face… Holy crud… He knew what had happened to his cub! His cub had finally come home after disappearing so long ago… Well, at least Beary had been taken care of…_'

He had, at first, thought very little of the Barringtons. After all, what was a human family doing caring for a bear cub? But when he had learned the truth of how Beary had been found, he had changed his mind…

**Flashback**

_As the bus pulled up outside of the fifteenth and final Barrington home, the Bears couldn't help but gasp. "Why would Beary run 'way from 'ere?" Fred asked as he looked out the window. "Well, if this is his place."_

_"Who knows. It has to be. It's the final one in the phonebook," Henry replied. He clapped his paws together. "So, who's gonna go get him?"_

_Ted stood up, much to everyone's surprise. "I will. I, uh… I need to apologize to him… for shoutin'," he said sheepishly. Ignoring their stares, he made his way off the bus, up the driveway, and climbed the wooden porch steps. Walking across the porch, he glanced back at the bus only once before turning and pressing the doorbell._

_He could hear a voice calling, "Beary! Pie!" through the door, and knew they had the right home at last. When the door opened, revealing a human, his eyes widened slightly._

_"Can I help you?" the human teen asked._

_"Uh, yeah. Is there a Beary Barrington here?" Ted asked. Two older human heads appeared out of a doorway down the hallway._

_The human teen merely nodded before asking, "Wait a minute… Aren't you Ted Bedderhead?"_

_The black bear nodded._

_"Huh… I guess Beary was telling the truth after all…" the human muttered. "He really was getting the band back together…"_

_"Can I talk to him? It's, uh… It's kinda important…"_

_The human shrugged, stepped aside to let the bear inside, and then led him up the stairs. Going down the hallway to a door that was halfway open, he opened it fully and said, "Uh, Beary? That Ted guy is here. Do you want me to kick him out?"_

_"Ted? Ted Bedderhead? Is here?" a voice Ted instantly recognized as Beary's, answered in surprise._

_Ted pushed past the human and spoke. "Uh, yeah." He noticed Beary quickly look down at his paws and hide the picture he held behind his back. He let out a barely audible growl that sent the human from the room. Turning back to Beary, he said, "You, uh, you left your stuff on the bus."_

_"You can keep it," Beary answered with a soft sigh as he looked down. Ted felt horrible when Beary went on. "I don't want it…"_

_Ted looked down and to the side for a moment before attempting to continue. "Look, I, uh…" he broke off when he saw the wall above Beary's bed, covered in Country Bears posters. _'Wow_…' He also noticed that some of the images had been taken down. He finally continued after a few moments. "I, uh, hope you know how lucky you are. It only took you a few days to understand somethin' that took me ten years to figure out," he said, sitting down on what he presumed was the human's bed. Why were they sharing a room?_

_"What's that?" Beary asked, curious._

_"Mr. Chicken _**is**_ a girl," the singer responded._

_"Wha-?" Beary began, totally confused._

_Ted just chuckled, causing the cub to laugh when he realized what the older bear was talking about. "Yeah, that's it…" he mumbled. After a few seconds of laughter, he continued. "Really, I want to tell you that I'm sorry."_

_Beary sighed._

_"I was mad… Not at you! And I'm… sorry." He paused for a moment before continuing. "And that thing you wrote in your journal about us bein' great when we're together? It's true."_

_The young cub's eyes lit up. "You mean you're gonna do the show?" he gasped._

_Ted felt bad for the way he answered. "No… We're not doin' the show." Leaning his head down and to the side, he glanced out of the corner of his eyes at the cub's disappointed reaction. He smiled. "Not without you."_

_The ten-year-old let out an excited yell. "Whoo-hoo!"_

_Ted smiled at the young bear's enthusiasm. "Now, shall we, uh, go down and tell your…" He paused, unsure of what to call the other Barringtons. "Family?" he questioned._

_Beary nodded excitedly and led the elder bear out of the room. He charged down the stairs at a fast pace, almost falling flat on his face, while Ted followed at a much slower one. Running into the kitchen, Beary told his family that they were all going to the concert._

**.~*Time Skip*~.**

_Steering the boat through the window and across the cement floor, Ted was both terrified and having fun at the same time. He could hear the screams of his friends as the boat neared the cage they were trapped in. The boat finally slowed and the nose touched the cage door with an ever so slight tap._

_The cage door fell inwards and the bears inside all gasped in surprise and looked at the bear driver. Ted was breathing hard. They all were._

_"That was pretty nifty," Zeb said, full of awe._

_"Yeah!" Fred agreed with a nod._

_"Thanks…" Ted answered sarcastically, placing a paw on top of his head._

_"What do you say we go show Thimple who's boss?" Henry shouted._

_They all let out calls of agreement. Henry laughed, but his laughter was drowned out by Zeb._

_"Beeeeaaaaarrrrr POWEEEEERRRRR!" Zeb shouted, punching one fist into the air. He broke off in embarrassment as the others looked at him in annoyance. "Sorry."_

_"Yeah," Henry agreed. "Let's go!"_

_Working as a group, they finally managed to move the boat back out of the cage entrance. Once the boat was moved, Ted climbed down._

_"So, what's Beary's family like?" Henry asked curiously._

_Ted just chuckled and shook his head. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"You'll see."_

_"Uh, Ted?" Fred asked, moving towards his older brother._

_"Huh?"_

_"Where'd ya get the boat?"_

_Ted swore softly and began to run back to the hole in the wall. Confused, the others followed. They gasped when they saw the red van in the open trench._

_"Please tell me that's not-" Henry began, hurrying up._

_Ted merely nodded and moved faster. Their hearts quickening, the bears reached the open trench in record timing. Looking at the smashed front of the van, the shattered windshield, and the non-moving dark figures within, Ted grimaced and called down, "Hey! You all right?"_

_For a moment there was silence, and then the side door slid open, revealing the red hair of a human female. "Yeah… Mostly… We could use some help getting out, though!" she called._

_Zeb pushed past the others, handed his hat to Fred, and carefully slid down the dirt wall towards her. Being the thinnest of the bears, next to Trixie, he could move up and down easier. Taking her hand in his paw, he introduced himself. "I'm Zeb Zoober, ma'am," he said as he helped her out of the destroyed vehicle._

_"Thank you, Mr. Zoober," she replied as he passed her up to Henry, who had knelt down in order to pull the trapped people up. Once Henry had pulled her up the trench wall, the other Bears helped pull her up the rest of the way up._

_Roadie was the next one out, along with Mr. Chicken. However, Roadie just handed Mr. Chicken up, and then stayed down there to help._

_A teenage boy came out next, marveling the bears. Just how many humans were in this car? Henry pulled him up and Tennessee then took over. Once the teen was all the way up, he went over to Ted. "Glad to see you made it, man. Beary and I had a bet going on, while we waited to get out of there, to see how much damage you did," he laughed, looking past the black bear and at the gaping hole. "Hm… I guess we tied."_

_The other bears (save for Ted, Henry [who was still on the ground], and Zeb [who was down below]) looked at the teen in surprise. But before they could ask any questions, a pained yelp was heard from below._

_"Hey! We may need some help down here!" Zeb called with a slight panic in his voice. He had been trying to help Beary get free of the vehicle, but ended up twisting the cub's leg between the driver's seat, which had moved back with the crash, and the seat behind it, where Beary had been sitting. "Beary's leg is jammed tight between the seats!" He leaned back into the car (Roadie had already gotten back in, hoping he could help get the cub's leg unstuck) and pushed against the long middle seat that Beary was sitting on. Up in the front, an older human male was in the front seats, desperately trying to pull the damaged driver's seat forward, even though there was nowhere for it to go._

_Beary managed to stay calm and attempted to twist his leg back to its original position. He bit back a cry as a twinge of pain shot through the leg. He cursed the fact that he had moved too fast and thus gotten his leg stuck. "So, Zeb, what songs are you doing tonight?" he asked, trying to distract himself from the predicament._

_Zeb, realizing what the cub was up to, smiled. "Hm… Well, we was thinkin' about doin' _Straight to the Heart of Love_ as the openin' number. Whatcha you think?" he asked with a smile. He glanced at both the human in the front and Roadie in the back, and winked._

_"I think that's a gre-" Beary's answer was cut off by another pained yelp as the pressure on his leg finally ended, letting the blood flow freely once more. He looked at both his father and Roadie and saw what they had done: While he had been talking to Zeb, Roadie had bent down and undid the bolts on the middle seat. He and Zeb had then, when Beary was answering Zeb's question, lifted the seat up and back, thus freeing the cub._

_"Hey!" Henry called; he was about to go down and help. "What's going on down there? Are you all right?"_

_Zeb helping Beary out of the van after those few anxious minutes was answer enough. Ted smiled as the cub merely waved at them all. Trixie hugged Tennessee; the human female hugged the teenager—who tried to get away; Fred couldn't stop smiling; and Henry laughed as he hauled the cub up the trench wall and into the Bears' waiting arms. Roadie, Zeb, and the human male were hauled up next. Roadie immediately went to go and back the bus out of the building._

_Once the unnamed human male reached the top of the wall, he moved over to where the other two humans were waiting, and then the two older ones went over to where Beary was standing by the _Bears_. As one, the older humans wrapped their arms around the cub. "Baby, are you all right?" the female asked._

_"I'm fine, Mom!" Beary answered, embarrassed by the show of affection in front of the _Bears_._

_"Are you sure? Your leg was pretty pinned, Beary," the male said._

_"Dad! I'm good to go!"_

_Ted led the stunned group away from the family. "Well, I told you that you wouldn't believe me if I told you who his family is," he said with a smirk._

_"His… His family is… human?" Trixie asked in shock._

_Ted merely nodded and laughed at the dropped jaws they were giving him._

_They all turned back in time to see Beary and the teenager bump fists and hear them both exclaim, "That was AWESOME! Let's do it again!" The two Barrington children laughed at the expressions on Mr. and Mrs. Barrington. Beary then led his human family over to the bears._

_"Guys," he said to the bears, "this is my family." He then turned to his parents and brother. "These are the _Country Bears_."_

_It was a few moments before anyone said anything. Henry made the first move. "Hello, I'm Henry Taylor. It's good to finally meet the… parents… of Beary."_

_Mr. and Mrs. Barrington immediately shook his outstretched paw. "And it's good to meet the bear who has taken such good care of our son," Mrs. Barrington said. "I'm Allison, and this is my husband, Norbert, and our oldest son, Dexter."_

_"Dex," the teen muttered._

_"Sorry. Dex," Allison corrected._

_The other bears took turns introducing themselves and complimenting the Barringtons on raising such a fine and well-mannered cub, causing Beary's fur to warm considerably at the compliments._

_While all this was going on, Roadie had successfully backed the bus out of the warehouse and parked it in front of the gate, away from the trench. He stood in the doorway and called out to them. "Hey, you coming? We have a concert to get to!"_

_"Right, right," Henry replied. He turned back to the Barringtons. "After you."_

_Allison Barrington smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Taylor."_

_"Please, call me Henry."_

_"Very well, Henry."_

_~Time Skip~_

_As the concert drew to a close, people and bears began exiting _Country Bear Hall_. All were eagerly discussing the concert and how happy they were at seeing the band back together again. They also all were talking about the young bear cub that played with the band. All were wondering who he was, where he was from, and what he was doing there._

_Ted sighed when he heard them. He knew that if it wasn't for Beary, none of them would be there. He glanced over at the young bear cub and saw him talking animatedly with Henry. He was no longer holding Tennessee's one-string thang, but was now holding his own guitar._

_"Hey, Ted," Zeb began, walking over to him._

_Ted turned to his friend. '_I'm just glad I can still call them my friends… after the way I treated them…_' he thought to himself. Out loud, he replied, "What is it?"_

_Fred and Tennessee joined them just then. "That was great!" Tennessee exclaimed. "I haven't felt that good in a long time!"_

_Ted and the others chuckled. They agreed as well. It had felt good to play together again._

_"I bet Beary was havin' one heck of a time," Zeb chuckled. "He certainly didn't expect to join the band. Not much younger than I was when we started out." He had only been sixteen when the band was formed. Tennessee was eighteen, Fred nineteen, and Ted twenty._

_"Speakin' of Beary," Fred began. "Where'd he learn to play the thang?"_

_They all looked at each other before looking over in Beary's direction. "That," Ted replied, "is a very good question… Not like there are other instruments like it."_

_"Yeah, and how did a bear cub end up with a family of humans?" Tennessee questioned._

_Trixie walked over. "You know, you'll never find out if you don't ask the right people," she commented. They all gave her blank stares and she sighed in exasperation. "Ask his adoptive parents!"_

_It was at that time that the human part of the Barrington family decided to walk up onto the stage. "Ask us what?" Norbert asked._

_The _Bears'_ eyes all widened. They didn't expect to be overheard. They turned towards the humans. "Well, um, you see," Tennessee began, stumbling over his words._

_"Hey! Can we get a few words?"_

_Everyone on stage turned to see several journalists and photographers looking at them with their cameras poised and ready to take pictures. Ted glanced at the human family. "We'll talk later. In the meantime, you'd better wait backstage. Henry will bring Beary back there in a few moments. Trust me, the press isn't somethin' any of you should have to deal with." The humans nodded and immediately disappeared into the background. Ted turned to the others. "Distract the press for a couple seconds."_

_They nodded and moved towards the numerous reporters while Ted went over to Henry, who hadn't noticed the reporters. He was still talking to Beary. "Hen," Ted began, placing a paw on the elder bear's shoulder. Both Henry and Beary turned to look at the lead singer._

_"What is it?" Henry asked._

_"The press has arrived," Ted muttered._

_Henry turned to look at the photographers. "It would appear that you're right, Ted." He turned to Beary, who was looking at both of them in confusion. "Beary, you'd better get backstage."_

_"Huh? But-" the cub immediately protested._

_"Beary, now." Henry's tone was that of a father scolding his child. "The press isn't something you're used to. You don't want them to catch up with you. You do _**not**_ need any more publicity than you already have."_

_Beary winced, while Ted looked confused. "Okay," the cub answered, a slightly sad tone in his voice. He turned and walked backstage._

_Ted looked at Henry. "What do you mean "more publicity"?"_

_Henry chuckled. "I'll have to tell you later… If I don't get arrested, first…"_

_Ted's eyes widened. "Just what have you be-" He was cut off when Zeb tapped his shoulder._

_"They want to talk to you two."_

_A little while later, when all the press had finally left, the _Bears_ sighed and began putting away their instruments. "I thought they'd never leave," Tennessee muttered. "I'm not used to them swarmin' around anymore."_

_"Here, here!" Zeb agreed as he put away his fiddle. He just hoped it wasn't for the final time. He had truly missed playing her._

_Ted glanced around as he put away his guitar. "Where'd the kid and his family get off to?" he wondered aloud._

_It was then that Roadie appeared out of nowhere. "I took Beary and his family out to the bus while you guys were talking to the vultures." Roadie always had called the press "vultures" but wouldn't tell anyone why. "Beary's asleep in the way back, his… uh, brother is listening to his MP3 player, and his… uh, parents… are waiting up. They said something about you guys wanting to ask them something?"_

_The bears nodded and were about to go out to the bus, when Roadie continued. "Henry went out there a while ago."_

_"What for?" Fred asked, confused._

_Roadie just shrugged._

_Zeb chuckled. "Maybe to apologize for "kidnappin'" Beary."_

_Tennessee, Fred, and Roadie all laughed along with him while Trixie and Ted were both confused and horrified._

_"What?" Trixie cried out at the same time Ted exclaimed, "He kidnapped Beary?"_

_This just made the others laugh harder._

_Zeb laughed. "Don't 'cha ever watch the news?"_

_"Yeah, Fred, Henry, and Roadie are wanted for kidnappin'," Tennessee went on._

_"And you're all laughin' why?" Ted asked, completely confused. "I do not believe this is a laughin' matter."_

_"I agree. You guys are in serious trouble!" Trixie growled, glaring at Fred and Roadie, who winced at her fierce glare._

_Roadie managed to calm down enough to tell them the truth. "We didn't kidnap Beary. He ran away from home and came here. He suggested to Henry that they get the band back together for a benefit concert."_

_"So, this actually was all Beary's idea?" Ted questioned. "I thought Henry was just sayin' that!"_

_Roadie glanced at him. He was about to say something more, but then Henry walked in, the Barrington parents in tow. The bears on the stage met them at the benches where the audience sits. _

_As everyone sat down, Allison sighed. "You want to know why a bear cub is living with humans, correct?" she asked softly._

_"Well, we are curious," Zeb admitted._

_Norbert cleared his throat. "It's quite simple, actually. When Allison and I found Beary, he was all alone in a forest."_

_"Not entirely alone," Allison put in._

_"What do you mean?" Henry questioned._

_"Well, the rangers who originally found him placed a tracker around his neck. We just happened to be friends with the rangers, so they called us and asked if we wanted to take him in. We agreed, of course. We couldn't just leave him there." Norbert sighed, glancing at Allison. "We searched for his family, but learned that his mother was dead, and his father wasn't around. When no one came looking for him, we officially adopted him."_

_Ted could see that they were holding something back, but he didn't want to push them, so he didn't say anything._

_"That's all?" Tennessee questioned._

_The parents nodded…_

**End Flashback**

"…all right?" Zeb asked, pulling the lead singer out of his thoughts.

Ted practically jumped in surprise. "Huh?"

Zeb looked at him in confusion for a moment before repeating what he had just said. "I said, 'do you think she'll be all right'?"

Ted just gave him a blank stare. "Who?"

"Jewel! You know, Beary's friend?"

"Oh! Uh… maybe," the singer responded.

"Man, where you been for the last ten minutes? Cloud Nine?"

"No! I was just thinkin'. That's all."

Zeb studied him for a moment before shrugging and looking at the dark television. "What about you, Tennessee? Do you think the cub will be all right?" Getting no response, he looked around in surprise. "Tennessee? Where'd he go?"

Ted just shrugged and turned back on the TV.


	7. Chapter Six

.~*Chapter Six*~.

The long, brown-furred bear in question was currently turning right to go down Oak St., the very hill street where Beary had been kidnapped almost two weeks before. He was on his way to the Stones' house, where Trixie currently was with her sister and brother-in-law. He was going to apologize for the rude way he had been acting for the past four days whenever the Stone adults had come over. He had been a real jerk, just because he had been jealous that the Stones got to raise his daughter instead of him.

'_Maybe it would've been better if Trixie hadn't told me the truth…_' he wondered. '_Maybe then I wouldn't be feeling the pain I am now…_'

When he had first learned of Jewel's existence, he was beyond shocked. He had been furious and heartbroken that Trixie had gone and had a cub. At first it was because he thought that she had had an affair, and second because she hadn't told him about it for almost eleven years. Learning that Jewel Stone was really Jewel St. Claire (he and Trixie never married, so Jewel shared the same last name as her mother, but he was planning on changing that) and his cub, had surprised him. And the fact that she had been living with her Aunt Tasha and Uncle James Stone had shocked him. He had thought for the longest time that Trixie had ran off to be with a panda…

Only to learn that she had left because she was scared about how he would take the news about the cub.

'_I was so stupid…_'

He had had almost four days after that to meet his daughter, but had been too afraid to. And now he may never see his cub, because she had gone looking for her best friend.

'_So this is what Henry feels like every time he sees Beary._'

"There's no way that Beary is not Henry's son. He looks exactly like Helen, takes after her, too, but has Henry's hazel green eyes. I know Henry knows this!" he muttered. "He's just denyin' the truth. But why?" He paused when he reached the alley, the very alley where Beary had been kidnapped. '_So… This is where it happened…_' he thought.

Looking to the left, he saw tall green bushes growing along the side of the alley. '_No wonder Beary didn't see the van… It had a good hiding place…_' He paused in confusion. '_Wait a minute… The woman who witnessed the kidnapping claims that Beary had turned around when he was at the top of the hill and raced back down… How did the kidnappers know he was going to do that? Maybe it was cause they had followed him from school and saw him with his guitar before he got to Jewel's…_'

He continued to study the alleyway in quiet suspicion for a few short moments before continuing on his way. However, he couldn't shake the strange feeling he was getting. He knew that something didn't add up.

Once at the bottom of the hill, he turned left again and began walking up the street to the large green house in the middle of the block. Once at the front steps, he climbed them up to the lawn and to the front porch. Once up on the porch, he hesitated for a moment before ringing the doorbell.

The door opened after a few moments, revealing the dark-furred and green apron-clad female known as Tasha Stone. She looked at him in surprise for a moment before speaking. "Tennessee! W-What are you doing here?" Suddenly remembering the way she had been coldly treated by the one-string thang player, she fixed him with an icy glare. "What do you want?"

"I…uh… I came to apologize for how I've been actin' the past four days," the thick-furred bear quietly said, not meeting her eyes.

"What was that?"

"I came to apologize for how I've been actin' over the past four days," Tennessee replied, his voice a little louder than before.

Tasha put a paw up to her ear. "I'm sorry, I didn't quiet catch that."

"I'M SORRY FOR THE WAY I'VE BEEN ACTIN'!" Tennessee answered loudly, his voice just a little quieter than a shout.

Tasha nodded. "That's better," she said playfully, stepping aside and letting him through the door. He thanked her and stepped inside. She then shut the door behind them.

Trixie smiled when she saw her boyfriend; she and James had heard the entire conversation. She went over and gave him a hug and whispered in his ear, "I'm proud of you, Tennessee." Turning, she looked at her younger sister and brother-in-law. "So, shall we let him in on the conversation?"

"What conversation?" Tennessee asked in confusion.

Tasha took his paw. "Tennessee, do you want to know what your daughter has been up to these past eleven years?"

Tennessee's smile couldn't have gotten any bigger. "I would love too."

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

"I've brought you a visitor, bear. I'm sure you know him."

Weary hazel green eyes slowly looked up towards the source of the voice. The owner of the weary eyes was curled up in a fetal position in the corner of the currently cold room. The collar around his neck was heavy and extremely uncomfortable. The chain around it gave him little slack, allowing him little movement. The muzzle around his snout chaffed his thin fur, and kept his snout tightly shut.

He hadn't eaten in at least a week and three days. The week, he was unconscious. The three days he was awake, he had been vomiting severely as a reaction to the tranquilizer darts he had been given when they had kidnapped him. At least during that time, they had had the courtesy of removing the muzzle. However, now that his stomach was empty, he kept having dry heaves, and they returned the muzzle to his snout, despite his struggles.

There was two ways he knew that it was night and day. Night, the room he was in was freezing; the fur that covered his body did little to ward off the cold. Day, the room he was in was uncomfortably hot, making him wish he wasn't a bear with thick fur.

He was so weak… He could barely lift his head to look at his kidnapper. His movements were shaky. Even though the room was cold, he was not. He was sick with fever.

His head fell back to his chest as a series of coughs tried to escape his closed mouth. The coughing intensified, causing him to fall to his side as his body shook from the force of the coughing.

He could hear them laughing at him. Laughing at his pain.

His coughing finally subsided almost ten minutes later, leaving him weaker than before.

"Hey, Barrington. Remember me?"

Beary's eyes widened. '_It couldn't be…_' Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked at the two figures. Though his vision swam, he was able to see two dark figures: one tall, the other just a little shorter.

The shorter one walked towards him, and then squatted down in front of the feverish cub, allowing the cub to see his face. "I hope you remember me, Barrington. I remember you. And just so you know, I hate you and your so-called family," he said before chuckling darkly. "If you ever manage to get out of this, even though I doubt you will, I want you to pass along a message to your bastard brother."

Beary's confused expression suddenly turned to one of extreme pain as his "visitor's" foot slammed into his gut. With a muffled scream of pain, his world went black.

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

Buying the bus ticket had been the hard part, what with all the images of her face flashing across almost every television screen with the words, "BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR" below each and every one of them. Jewel could hear her mother's voice telling her to "come home" as well, and it nearly made her break down and cry. She wanted nothing more than go home.

'_But I can't_,' she reminded herself. '_I can't go home until I find Beary._'

She lowered her head as she went up to the ticket counter and purchased the ticket. She was glad that she had brought a bear-sized baseball cap and a pair of large, green sunglasses with her. The ticket lady barely looked at her face as the cub handed over her money and the lady handed her the bus ticket. Jewel then hurried out to her bus, which was about to depart. Instead of parting with her backpack and putting it in the cargo hold she voted for keeping it with her, letting it rest on her lap.

Sitting in the way back of the _Greyhound_, Jewel tried to relax, but failed miserably. She didn't dare take off her cap or sunglasses, lest she be recognized by someone who recently watched the news. She couldn't risk it.

Looking out the window as the bus began to move, she saw a cop moving towards the ticket window where she had bought her ticket. _'Shoot_!' she thought in horror. '_Please don't let her recognize my photo!_' She didn't get a chance to find out, though, as the bus fully left the station.

Sighing in relief, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. '_I can't believe I really did it… Is this what Beary felt like when he ran away from home a year ago?_' she wondered. '_A sense of freedom, regret, and fear all rolled into one?_'

The golden-furred, green-eyed bear cub opened her over-the-shoulder bag and pulled out her scrapbook. Opening the black book, she stared at the first image she had of her and Beary, one from all the way back in kindergarten, where they had first met…

**Flashback**

_A small golden cub cautiously looked around the room. Growing up with a police officer for a father, she was naturally suspicious and cautious. There was no one else in the room, save for a light brown-furred bear cub, sitting at the back table and coloring._

_"Mama? Why I hewe again?" she asked, looking up at the dark-furred, blue-eyed bear that was her mother. Her father had to work; he was rather disappointed that he wouldn't get to see his baby girl off to school._

_Tasha Stone smiled. "To learn, Jewel," she replied gently. She had discussed "school" with the cub for almost a week, and was getting tired of the same question over and over and-_

_"Leawn what?" the curious cub questioned._

_"Well, how to spell, sing, play, make friends-" Tasha began, but immediately knew the last one was the wrong thing to say._

_"But Sasha, Glowia, and Maya are my fwiends!"_

_"Honey, they're back in Iowa. We're in Tennessee. We have a new life here, now," Tasha answered._

_"I wanna go back!" Jewel cried, refusing to take another step._

_Her mother sighed. "Jewel, sweetie, you're going to make new friends. You can still talk to Sasha, Gloria, and Maya on the phone-" When Jewel began to show signs of an oncoming fit, Tasha glared at her, silencing the fit before it could begin. "Now, look over there," she said, trying to stay calm. She was pointing at the lone bear cub in the back of the room. "Go and say 'hello'."_

_As Jewel turned to look at the cub, Tasha took the chance and quickly left the room. Jewel scowled when she saw what her mother had done. She proceeded to follow the older bear out of the room, but was stopped when a hoard of human children filed in with their parents. She jumped back with a slight growl and stalked towards the back of the room, where she then sat down at the round table, across from the other bear cub._

_The other cub looked up at her for a moment, stunned that someone would actually sit with him. '_Ha! Dex was wrong!_' he thought happily. '_He said nobody would sit with me!_' Now grinning, he looked back down at his drawing._

_Jewel glanced at cub and growled, "What awe yo gwinning at?"_

_The other cub looked at her, startled by the hostile tone in her voice. "Nofing," he replied softly, flinching lightly. "Just somefing my oldew bwofer said."_

_Slightly curious, she asked, "Wha' did he say?" She immediately could tell he was shy_

_"He said nobody would sit by me."_

_Confused, the female cub asked, "Why wouldn' anybody sit wif yo? Awe yo sick o' somefing?"_

_The cub shook his head. "Mama said he was just bein' mean an' nawt to lisen to him." He studied her for a moment, taking in her golden fur and her stunning forest green eyes, before asking, "Yo wanna dwa wif me?" He held out his large crayons. Would she join him or take them from him?_

_Jewel smiled. Sure, she was mad with her mother, but that didn't mean she couldn't have fun. "Suwe!" She took one of the crayons, a blue one, a piece of paper, and smiled. '_Maybe this is what Mama means?_' she wondered. "I'm Jewel. Jewel Stone. I'm five an' a hawf."_

_"Beary. Beary Barrington. I juzz tuwn five a fu monfs ago."_

**End Flashback**

Jewel chuckled at the memory. She and Beary had become fast friends after that, but they didn't become best friends until a few days afterwards…

**Flashback**

_Jewel walked into the classroom just in time to see the following scene take place._

_"My oldah bwofher says tat Dex Bawington is yo oldah bwofer," a six-year-old, brown-haired, blue-eyed boy said to the light brown-furred, green-eyed bear cub that sat alone at a table in the back of the room._

_Beary looked up at the boy in surprise. "Yeah, so?" he asked in confusion._

_"Thewe's no way yo awe his bwofher."_

_Beary just looked at him, confusion evident on his face._

_The human just stared at him. "Yo a beaw, dummy."_

_Jewel, who was confused and angered at the remark, walked over to them. "What yo point?" she asked, sitting down next to her friend. "Don't call my fwiend a 'dummy', dummy," she growled._

_The child pointed at Beary, as if trying to prove his point. "He a beaw! Dex is ahoomon!" he argued. "Dex is like me! Nawt yo! My oldah bwofher says yo a ugly, smeewy be-"_

_Jewel punched him, sending him sprawling to the floor. "Beary's nawt stupid! Yo stupid!" She turned back to her friend. "Come on, Beary. We gonna find somewhew else to sit." She proceeded to move across the back of the room to an empty table in the opposite corner._

_Beary, shocked, stared at her for a moment before gathering up his things and following her…_

**End Flashback**

She turned the page, looking at the next picture. It was taken after her parents and Beary's parents had met. The meeting had been a little… interesting…

**Flashback**

_Beary and Jewel looked up from their game in surprise when the doorbell rang. They watched as Tasha, in all her dark-furred glory, walked over to the door, wiping off her paws on her green apron._

_Quickly getting bored, the two cubs turned back to their intense game of ultimate tic-tac-toe, all the while eavesdropping like little children tend to do._

_Opening the door, Tasha began to greet the parents of Beary Barrington (who had told her that they were on their way), only to pause in confusion when she didn't see two bears standing on the porch, but three humans, two older and much younger. Instead of just standing there and staring, she asked, "May I help you?"_

_The woman spoke first. "We're here to pick up Beary."_

_"Are you friends with his parents?" Tasha asked, confused as to why they were there._

_Her answer, however, came from a different source. "Mama!" Beary cried, abandoning his game and running towards the humans. The two adult humans embraced the cub, much to the surprise of Tasha Stone._

_"You… You're Beary's parents?" she exclaimed in surprise._

_Mrs. Barrington smiled. "I'm Allison. This is my husband, Norbert, and our oldest son, Dexter."_

_"Dex," the boy muttered._

_Tasha, finally getting over her initial shock escorted them in. "I'm Tasha Stone, Jewel's... mother," she said. "I would let you meet my husband, but he's at work at the moment."_

_"Really? What's he do?" Norbert asked while Allison let Dex and Beary go back to playing with Jewel._

_The three children didn't pay much attention to the adult's conversation, but instead when back to playing. Well, Dex just sat and watched the two bear cubs while they played..._

**End Flashback**

"Is this seat taken?" a voice asked.

Jewel nearly jumped out of her fur at the new voice. She looked up, only to see someone she never expected. "Dex?" she exclaimed in complete surprise.

Dexter Barrington just smirked. "Of course! Who else?"

Jewel moved her stuff off the seat next to her and the teen sat down. "What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"Same as you. I'm going to look for Beary. I got on the bus just after you did. I knew where you were going, so I followed. I'm just glad that you didn't leave the station on the really early bus," he explained as he set his backpack down. "Remember, I can drive. So I got to the station just before you boarded the bus."

"What about Mr. and Mrs. Barrington?"

"Hey, remember, I barely leave my room. Besides, I told them I was going to AJ's. They said that it was good that I was getting out of the house." He smirked. "The _Bears_ just sorta glared at me. I don't think that they could believe that I was going to a friend's house when my brother is missing." He looked around. "So, where we headed?"

"Well, Beary's journey began at _Country Bear Hall_, remember?" Jewel asked. The human nodded, and she went on. "Well, I'm just thinking that maybe he might have left something there that might give us a clue as to where he might be."

Dex dug into his backpack and pulled out a familiar red scrapbook. "Maybe this might help? If there's anything about an enemy of the _Country Bears_, it's gotta be in here."

Jewel could've hugged him. "Dex, that's genius!" She took the scrapbook from his hands and it flipped open to the middle of the book. A newspaper article was pasted on the right half of the page. _BEARS WIN TALENT SHOW; DEFEAT "ARM MUSICIAN"_ the headline read.

"What's an 'arm musician'?" Dex asked.

"Beary told me that it was someone who played 'music' with arm farts. The talent show was the _Bears'_ big break," Jewel answered, about to turn the page. Dex stopped her.

"Wait. Look!" He pointed at a smaller picture beneath the larger one.

"What?" Jewel asked, confused.

"Read the caption!"

_Upon being named runner-up, fifteen-year-old Benny Boggswaggle questioned the judging and proceeded to throw a fit on stage, causing minimal damage, but disturbing just the same._

Dex immediately pulled out his cell phone. Quickly punching in some numbers, he called home.

"What are you doing?" Jewel cried, attempting to take the phone from him.

"BB!" Dex answered, keeping said phone out of the female cub's reach.

"Huh?"

Dex shook his head and shushed her as Mrs. Barrington picked up the phone on the other end of the line.

"_Hello_?"

"Mom, put Henry on the phone. Tell him it's important!"

"_Dex, what's going on? Where are you? I called AJ's house earlier, and he said that you never went there!_"

"Never mind that, Mom! I'll explain later!"

"_You'd better have a good explanation, mister! You are grounded when you get home!_"

"Just know that I have found Jewel."

"_What?_"

"Mom! Hurry up! My battery's dying!"

"_Fine, fine. Hold on._"

A few moments later, Henry's voice crackled over the line, slightly muffled due to the phone being on speaker; they didn't exactly have a bear-sized phone yet. "_Hello?_"

"Henry, who was it that captured you guys last year just before the concert?"

"_Reed Thimple. Why?_"

"Didn't you say that he had another name?"

"_Well, yeah. It was Benny Boggs…waggle…_" With that, Henry used a swear word that he was immediately rebuked for by Allison. "_Do you really think-_"

Dex's cell phone battery chose that moment to die, cutting off the conversation.

"Dex, what's going on?" Jewel questioned.

"I just found out who 'BB' is."


	8. Chapter Seven

.~*Chapter Seven*~.

"Hello? Hello? Dex!" Henry cried as the phone conversation was cut off.

"His battery must've died. He needs to remember to charge the dang thing," Allison muttered. "What did he want?"

Henry looked at her, his expression grave. "We may have just figured out who 'BB' is."

Allison's jaw dropped. "Good Lord!" she gasped, her hands finding her mouth. "Who is it?"

"A psycho. He's a former banker by the name of Reed Thimple. His real name is **B**enny **B**oggswaggle," the grizzly answered as he handed the phone over to her.

"Wasn't he the one who kidnapped you guys last year?"

Henry nodded. "How I didn't see it before is beyond me. He hates us."

"Wha' ya talkin' 'bout, Hen?" Fred asked, walking outside from the house. Ted, Zeb, Norbert, and Roadie were trailing behind the large bear.

"Yeah. What's goin' on?" Zeb questioned. "Did ya find Dex?"

"Oh yeah. We found him. And he gave us some interesting information that he and Jewel just discovered." Allison glanced at them all.

"What? He found Jewel?" Henry exclaimed. "He didn't say that!"

"Well, he found her. He's with her now. Didn't tell me where they were, though."

"Well, what did he want?" Ted asked, getting impatient.

Allison turned to her husband. "Norbert, call James. We may finally have a prime suspect."

_.~*~._

Tennessee's eyes were filled with wonder as he looked at the sheet music that he now held in his paws. "Beary and Jewel wrote this?" he questioned softly in disbelief.

"I helped them with the music. They wrote the actual song," Tasha answered. "They wrote that particular one a year and a half ago, when a classmate died in a car accident." She sighed. "For cubs so young, they're so mature… They know how to act proper.

"They were even asked to sing it at the funeral by the parents. The guests at the funeral loved it a lot. It turns out that one of the guests—the uncle of the deceased, I believe—belonged to a recording studio, and he asked them if they wanted to record it for real. After a while, they agreed to a single-song contract. Now the song is on the radio and everything. It's a _huge_ hit. Most of the money they received, they donated to charity. They also put some into their college fund, but also kept some of the money for just in case they ever needed it."

"What band name did they use?" Trixie asked, surprised at this new information.

The black bear grinned. "JCB."

"JCB?"

"I think it means '_Junior Country Bears_'. I've got a recording, if you want to hear it."

The couple smiled. Not just at the fact that they could now here this "hit", but because of the band name the cubs had chosen. "We would love to," they answered together.

Tasha smiled, led them up to Jewel's room, and went over to Jewel's desk. The desk was pretty organized, so she had no trouble finding the song recording. "Got it!" she called. Turning around, she found the couple staring at the poster-covered walls. Chuckling, she spoke. "Who would've thought that Jewel's idol would be her own mother?"

Trixie just smiled a large smile. Tennessee gripped her paw tightly and smiled as well.

"Now, how about that song?" Tasha asked, placing the CD in the player and pressing PLAY.

Almost immediately, a beautiful alto voice filled the room.

_I'll always see your face_  
_The corner of your smile  
And all the little things that  
no one will ever know_

_Like it was yesterday  
Won't ever fade away  
Goodbye is just a word  
That I will never say"_

Jewel's voice was joined by Beary's tenor one. Together, they sang in perfect harmony.

_You will never be forgotten  
A million days could pass us by  
But what is time  
But just a dream_

_Oh I still feel you  
Here with me  
You're more than a memory  
Oh you will never be forgotten"_

Jewel's voice dropped out and Beary sang alone.

_I can't hold your hand  
Or look into your eyes  
And when I talk to you  
It just echoes in my mind_

_But If hearts are made of dust  
And if we fell from the stars  
I look up tonight  
and know just where you are"_

Beary's voice was joined by Jewel's, and once more, they sang in perfect harmony.

_You will never be forgotten  
A million days could pass us by  
But what is time  
but just a dream_

_Oh I still feel you  
here with me  
You're more than a memory  
Oh you will never be forgotten_

Their voices became stronger as they continued.

_And the world just keeps on going  
It has no way of knowing  
That you're gone_

_You will never be forgotten_  
_A million days could pass us by_  
_But what is time_  
_but just a dream_

_Oh I still feel you  
Here with me  
You're more than a memory  
Oh you will never be forgotten_

As they finished, their voices softened. Tasha stopped the CD, took it out, and put it away. The black bear slowly turned to look at her lighter-furred sister, only to find two bears with tears in their eyes. Tasha smiled softly. "Jewel definitely takes after her parents. Just like Beary takes after Henry and Helen."

Trixie and Tennessee looked at her in surprise.

Tasha just chuckled. "I knew the second I saw the cub. That's why I was so surprised when Beary's parents showed up as humans. They explained how they adopted Beary. Besides, I used to hang out with you guys at the _Hall_ back then, remember? I would talk with Helen a lot while y'all practiced."

"That's right," Tennessee agreed.

Tasha looked away. "Also, I was the one who delivered Beary…" she whispered.

Trixie's and Tennessee's eyes widened immensely. "Say what?" they both gasped.

Just then, James walked in, dressed fully in uniform.

Tasha looked at her husband in surprise. He wasn't supposed to work today! "James? What's going on?"

"We have a lead on the kidnapping case."

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

"Hello, bear."

The sound of chains shifting against the cold cement floor filled the once silent room. A dim light cast a small glow in the room, barely illuminating the dark shape on the far side of the room, huddled in a corner. A few days ago, there had been a small cage that the figure had been imprisoned in, but no longer. Now the prisoner was chained to a wall in this cold, dark room.

There was a sudden clatter as a plastic tray was dropped in front of the still figure, spilling stale bread crumbs and water everywhere.

"There's your food for the day. Enjoy."

The figure shifted slowly until it was sitting up. The dim light revealed a young bear cub, around the age of eleven, with dirty, grimy, oily fur. His clothes, which fit him perfectly only two weeks ago, were now baggy and big on his now-gaunt frame. He was almost thirty pounds lighter than he had been on the day he had been cub-napped by a _Country Bear_ hating maniac. He scarcely received enough food and water, and he was constantly hungry.

He needed food. He had only been able to consume a little since he had awoken a few days ago.

He had only been conscious for a week (the week before that he had been under the influence of four strong tranquilizers), but almost immediately his life was a living Hell. He had constantly taunted and scorned by his kidnapper since then.

At least this man was better than _him. He _would just stand in the doorway and… watch. Just watch the cub in silence. Beary could always feel the deep anger and hatred that radiated off of _him_. He just couldn't understand why _he _hated him so much…

And then there was Josh. What was he doing there? Beary hadn't seen the teen since his previous visit, which had ended with the cub receiving a vicious kick to the stomach.

He still didn't know where he was or why he was there, but he did know that he just wanted to go home to all three of his families: his adoptive family, the Bears, and the Stones. Most of all, back to Jewel, his best friend.

As he finished sitting up, he picked up a small piece of the stale bread and managed to open his mouth wide enough to eat it. With the muzzle around his snout, eating was difficult. His kidnapper refused to remove it, even though it had rubbed the skin on his snout raw.

But at least there was a toilet within reach. He didn't know what he would've done without it. Sure it was just a large bucket, but it was better than nothing. And at least they emptied it at the end of the day.

"Do you want to go home, Beary?" the man asked softly.

Beary looked up, startled. This was the first time the man (that's how Beary thought of him as, having never seen his face in the dark room) had ever used his name. Cautiously, he slowly nodded.

"Hug them? Give them a kiss?"

He nodded again.

The man laughed darkly. "Well, too bad! You're **_never_** going to see the outside world again!" he yelled, causing the cub to cover his ears against the sudden and loud noise. The man laughed again, his mocking tone bouncing off the walls.

Beary hugged his knees to his chest and rested his muzzled snout on top of his knees while still holding his ears. He whimpered and wondered what he had done to deserve this. The man had told him to blame the _Country Bears_, but didn't explain why. Besides, why would he blame his favorite band? After all he had gone through to bring them back toget-

Wait. The man had also said that Beary had brought his enemy back together again. Was he talking about the _Bears_? If so, what did they ever do to him?

As if the man was reading his thoughts, he spoke with a soft tone that quickly became hard. "They never told you what they did to me, did they. I wouldn't expect them too, either. They're nothing more than a bunch of no good, dirty, rotten liars and-"A deep growl drowned out the rest of his sentence. He glared at the cub, who returned the glare. He reached behind him and pulled out some kind of long rod. Pressing something on the rod, the top of it began sparking with blue electricity. The man then took a menacing step towards the now-terrified cub. "You wanna growl at me?" he asked threateningly as the rod sparked.

Beary began to back up as far as he could, which wasn't very far, until he found himself cornered. He let out a whimper as he buried his face in his knees. His whimpers were turned into muffled screams of pain as the sparking end of the rod was shoved through his fur until it reached his bare neck, right in the front.

"YOU WANNA GROWL AT ME AGAIN, BEAR?" the man shouted as he turned up the level of electricity. Beary's screams increased in strength until the muzzle around his snout snapped.

It wasn't the only thing that snapped. Something within him snapped as well. His eyes filled with rage, and his body filled with a sudden burst of adrenaline, he let out an angry growl, stood, and pulled against the chain around his neck, all the while clawing at the man.

Thimple let out a startled yell as he was thrown away from the bear; the cattle prod thrown out of his hands. He could only watch in surprise as the chain attachment to the wall began to stretch. He swore and backed away, trying to reach the door.

With a loud _snap_, the chain broke, freeing the angry bear cub. He no longer thought about what he was doing. He had only one goal: Escape. And he would do _anything_ to escape this hellhole.

Reed Thimple stood in front of the doorway, pulling a small gun out of his waistband. It was a Walther P22, and he kept it with him at all times. Right now, it was his only defense against the rampaging bear.

Beary could smell the fear radiating off of the man, and he knew that this was his only chance. He picked up the chain that was dragging on the ground, swung it off to the side, and took a step towards his kidnapper. With a silent roar, he began his attack and lashed out with the chain.

Reed winced as the chain struck his abdomen. He raised the gun and released the safety. But just as he was about to fire, the chain was lashed out again, this time coming in contact with his head.

A loud **_bang_** echoed throughout the room and Beary felt a sharp sting in his upper left leg. He silently howled in pain and fell to one knee. However, he continued lashing the chain out at them man, finally knocking the gun from his hands. With a final blow to the head, Reed, already stunned from the previous blow to the head, collapsed.

Ignoring the pain in his leg—which was now white-hot—the cub got up, slowly limped around the man, and walked through the doorway.

He was free.


	9. Chapter Eight

.~*Chapter Eight*~.

Climbing the stairs from his former prison was hard work. Even going slow was difficult. It took him almost five minutes to reach the top step. When he did, he collapsed, the pain in his leg becoming too much; not to mention that he was still ill. '_No! I can't give up now! I'm so close!_' he mentally cried. Slowly, he got up, trying to keep as much weight as possible off of his left leg, and limped along the wall.

Blood continued to seep from his leg as he moved, streaming down his fur and leaving dark droplets behind. He had to make it to the door before the man woke. If he even was alive, that is. Beary tried not to focus on the fact that he may have killed someone, but was finding it rather difficult.

As he limped along the wall, he found himself looking into a large room through a door in the wall. The doorway had scratches and looked as if the door had been recently forced open. It looked like a bedroom, but it was dusty and dirty, as if it hadn't been lived in for a very long time.

Sudden visions appeared in his mind, of a mother and child playing patty cake on the floor, the child running to his mother's arms after suffering from a nightmare…

Spotting a dresser next to the doorway on the inside of the room, he moved towards it, hoping that it still had some clothes within. He needed to make a makeshift bandage.

Seeing that the top drawer was already open, he pulled out the first thing he could, which was a scarf that looked like it had been in storage for years. He shook it and a cloud of dust appeared. Coughing harshly on the dust, he looked at the scarf. It was still dirty, but it would have to do. He winced as he wrapped it around his leg and bit back a pained cry. Tears leaked out of his eyes as he continued bandaging the wound. Silently, he thanked his teachers for teaching him First Aid in school.

Once he had finished tying the make-shift bandage around his leg, he looked at the dresser. On top of it stood many picture frames, covered in as much dust as the rest of the room. Curious, he picked one up and blew on it, causing more dust to go flying. Once most was off, he brushed the rest off with his paw. His eyes widened when he saw-

"H-Hen…ry?" His voice was barely audible, and the effort it took to speak made his throat throb painfully.

Indeed was Henry Dixon Taylor, or, at least, a much younger version of the _Country Bear's_ band manager, with less gray and more brown fur. He was happier than Beary had ever seen him. One arm was wrapped around another bear. Held between the two of them was a small cub, wrapped in a blanket. Beary quickly studied the other adult bear and gasped.

He had seen this bear before. How? He had known her since birth. He had seen her in his worst nightmares and best dreams. This was his real mother, who he hadn't seen since he was three…

**Flashback**

_He didn't know what was going on. His mom had woken up from his nap and lifted him out of his crib. His young mind couldn't comprehend what was going on. "Mama?" he questioned as they ran._

_"Hush, baby! You have to be quiet!" his mother said sharply._

_The cub looked around and found out that they were outside. He found this to be rather exciting. His mother rarely let him outside! His ears pricked when he heard a loud _**bang**_ as the doorframe exploded beside him. Frightened, he let out a scared cry. "Mama! Wha goin' on?" he screamed._

_"Baby, Mama's done something stupid, and now some bad men want me hurt," his mother answered as she ran faster._

_"Why want yo huwt?"_

_"Never you mind. Just be quiet, all right?"_

_The cub nodded, but couldn't hold back another terrified scream as another loud _**bang **_echoed around them. "I wan Daddy!"_

_His mother ran faster, ignoring his terrified screams. She let out a pained cry of her own as a bullet pierced her lower back. Her legs gave out beneath her, causing her to fall forward. Unfortunately, she was on a hill and she rolled down, crashing through multiple bushes, until she fell into the river that ran through the forest. Her cub screamed the whole way down._

_The current was fast and quickly pulled her along. She struggled to keep both hers and the cub's head above the water._

_He gasped and sputtered as water filled his mouth. "Mama!" he screamed as they continued to bob up and down._

_His mother slowly fought against the current with one arm, holding her cub with the other. They were swept into a fallen tree trunk that jetted out into the river. Pulling herself along the trunk, she reached the river bank. The cub was crying weakly as she hoisted him up onto the raised bank. "Kiddo, I need… you to… listen to me… very carefully…" she whispered weakly, her kind forest green eyes gazing into his own. She caressed his wet cheek with one paw._

_The three-year-old cub nodded. He was shivering madly and just wanted to go home. But he purred at his mother's comforting touch and placed his paws on hers._

_"Baby… I want you… to run… Don't stop…"_

_"Mama… I wanna… go home!"_

_"We can't… You must go! Run! Now! I or… your father… will… find you… when it's safe!"_

_"But, Mama!"_

_"Beary Henry Taylor, go!"_

_With that, the cub began running, tripping several times, but kept running. The rest of the memory just wasn't there._

**End Flashback**

His eyes widened and he dropped the picture frame. It shattered at his feet.

He had to get out of here. Fast.

Limping quickly, he left the room. His heart was beating fast as he hobbled through the cabin. Swinging open the front door, he left the building behind and used the trees to move. Tears fell from his eyes as he hobbled along.

Beary didn't know how long he had been running/hobbling. He wasn't aware of much of anything as he began to feel light-headed. His movements began to slow until he finally collapsed against a tree trunk.

As his vision darkened, he felt a pair of warm, furry arms wrap around his gaunt frame and heard a familiar voice.

"Stay with me, Beary! Stay with…"

**-FLASH**-

More voices.

**-FLASH**-

"Adam, the cub has _nothing_ to do with this! Just let him go and take me instead!"

**-FLASH**-

Henry?

**-FLASH**-

"No, Henry. He has _everythin'_ to do with this! Why should _your_ cub live while _mine_ died because of **_you_**?"

**-FLASH**-

"It's _your_ fault that your wife and cub died! You were drinking! You killed Julie and Chris!"

**-FLASH**-

Who?

**-FLASH**-

Sadistic laughter.

**-FLASH**-

"Now you will all die. Won't that be nice, Hen? You and your son _both_ get to see your mate in Hell!"

**-FLASH**-

Crackling of flames.

**-FLASH**-

"_Henry…?_"

**-FLASH**-

_'Oh, baby… How did it come to this?'_

**-FLASH-**

Mama…?

**-FLASH-**

"I've got you, Beary… We're gonna get out of this…"

**-FLASH-**

His world was overcome by a bright, white light.

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

Officer Hart placed the two files on the coffee table in front of the assembled group of bears and humans. The human Barringtons sat on the sofa, the _Bears_ stood behind them, Tasha among them, standing next to her sister and Tennessee. Roadie leaned against a wall towards the back of the room.

Just as Hart was about to begin speaking, the front door opened. Curious, everyone turned and dropped jaws when Jewel and Dex walked in. Jewel dropped her backpack on the floor and ran to Tasha's waiting arms. "I'm sorry!" she cried. "I-I just w-wanted to find-"

"Shh, I understand, kiddo," Tasha answered as she rubbed the cub's back and sharing a glance with her older sister. James joined her in welcoming the cub home.

Tennessee tightened his grip on his girlfriend's paw. He knew how much she wanted to be the one comforting the cub. Heck, _he_ wanted to comfort _his_ cub as well.

Allison and Norbert got up and hugged their son. "We're proud of you, Dex," Allison whispered. The _Bears_ all smiled at the teen.

"It was nothing, Mom," the teen muttered, slightly embarrassed.

Officer Hart cleared his throat. "If we could back to the task at hand?" he questioned. James moved away from his adopted daughter and stood next to his partner. Everyone else went back to his or her original positions. Dex sat on the couch between his parents, and Jewel stood next to Tasha, not noticing the glances she was receiving from Trixie and Tennessee.

Henry looked at Dex. "How did you ever figure it out?"

Dex smiled and pulled off his backpack. Opening the main pouch, he pulled out a familiar red binder. Holding it up, he answered. "This. It's amazing what you can find out from a scrapbook."

The _Bears_ smiled, all instantly recognizing the little red book.

Officer Hart cleared his throat again. "We'll look at that later." All eyes turned to him as he picked up the top file he had placed on the coffee table. Opening it, he pulled out a picture and held it up for everyone to see.

A low growl emanated from Henry's throat as he looked at the photo of his former banker. Ted glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes. He, too, hated the man. They all did.

"Reed Thimple, aka Benny Boggswaggle," Hart began, placing the picture down on the table. "Says here that he got drunk one night about a year ago and drove under the influence. He hit and killed a child and was sentenced three years in jail. However, three months into his sentence, he escaped with another jail mate, both still at large."

Henry glanced at him. "Who's the other person?" he asked before taking a sip of water.

"A convicted killer by the name of Adam Jackson."

Henry's eyes widened. He had heard that name before, but where?

"Wha' did he do?" Fred asked rather dumbly, not noticing Henry's reaction.

Hart picked up the other file and opened it.

Henry didn't hear the man's response as his breathing and heartbeat intensified. He remembered that name. He remembered it well. How could he have forgotten? Wordlessly, he handed his cup to a confused Ted, and walked out of the house, not noticing the confused looks he was receiving from the others. He wouldn't have cared if he had seen them, anyway.

Roadie was the only one who wasn't confused. He, too, recognized the name. And it angered him beyond belief. "Why the hell didn't you tell us that bastard escaped?" he demanded angrily.

All eyes widened and everyone turned to look at the drummer in surprise. No one—not even the _Bears_—had ever heard him swear before, let alone understand why he was so angry.

Hart groaned. "So _that's_ where I've seen Mr. Taylor before!" he exclaimed.

All eyes turned to him once more. "Excuse me?" Allison questioned.

Hart sighed. "I've been on the Force for almost twenty years, since I was twenty-one. Eight years ago, I was involved in a joint-forces case. By the time our police force joined the case, the case had already been open for little over three years."

"Your point being?" Dex questioned, earning him a light smack upside the head from his father. He glared at the "innocent-looking" man.

"The case was of a missin' person by the name of Helen Terra Hathworth Taylor."

The room went silent as each bears' jaw dropped. The Barringtons, however, were confused.

"Who?" Norbert questioned.

It was Tasha that answered. "Helen was Henry's wife. She left him a little over eleven years ago."

Dex muttered something that sounded like, "That sucks." Norbert smacked him upside the head once again.

Hart continued. "Our force joined the case eight years ago when a hiker discovered a body in the Salza Forest, half-submerged in the Arlnis River that runs through the forest. Normally the river's pretty calm, but we had been receivin' an unusual amount of rain."

James cut him off. "Before you continue, perhaps the kids should leave the room."

Dex and Jewel immediately protested. "That's not fair!" Dex practically shouted while jumping up off of the couch.

Jewel looked across the room at who she thought was her father, unaware that her biological father was standing next to her, holding her biological mother's paw. Both were giving her wistful looks. "But, Dad!" she complained, unaware that she had caused Tennessee to wince. "I can help! You know I can!"

"Not this time, kiddo," James replied, sharing a glance with his sister-in-law and her boyfriend. He looked back at his wife and the pleading cub.

Hart spoke up. "Now, I wasn't at the actual crime scene. I was on the team that went lookin', but… The kids don't have to leave. I think they should hear this. They should know the truth as well." He chuckled. "Besides, they're going to be pesterin' you for details, anyway."

After a few minutes of contemplating this, the Barrington parents nodded. James and Tasha had looked at Trixie and Tennessee out of the corner of their eyes. When they nodded, James and Tasha agreed with the Barrington parents.

Dex sat back down, and Jewel leaned against Tasha.

Hart cleared his throat once again. "Now, where was I?"

"Findin' a body in a forest river," Zeb replied helpfully.

"Ah, yes, yes. Now, as I was saying…"

**Flashback**

_Rain fell on the stormy afternoon. Lightning danced across the sky, but one was barely able to see it through the dense treetops. However, the deep rumbling of the thunder was easily heard over the sloshing sounds made by a small group of men and women boots as they trudged through the muddy ground._

_"Careful! There's a muddy hill ahead!" the leader of the group, Lt. Themm, a hard-nosed female with blond hair and brown eyes, called back._

_One of the female officers, a peppery-furred bear with chocolate brown eyes, Officer Luftnagle, walked next to Officer Hart and grumbled. "I **hate** this weather! Soaks you, makes your fur clump up from the mud…"_

_"Well, you know-" Officer Hart began._

_Luftnagle glared at him. "You say that you don't have that problem, and I'll-"_

_"**Don't** continue that sentence, Luftnagle," Lt. Themm called from up ahead. "It'll get you into trouble."_

_Luftnagle growled and Hart chuckled. He and his much older partner always argued like this. "At least you're warm durin' the winter," he put in, laughing at the look she now gave him. "Well, it's true! When you aren't sleepin', that is," he added the last part quietly._

_She didn't speak to him for the next few minutes._

_They approached the top of the hill and slowly made their way down. One of the younger men, a rookie, went too fast and slipped, sliding down the hill on his backside._

_"And **that's** exactly why I said to be careful," Lt. Themm commented. "Well, at least we know **how** the victim got down there. Thank you for the demonstration, Jerry!" A couple officers chuckled._

_The rookie stopped near the river's edge, having grabbed a hold of a thick tree root. The river was unusually high and fierce; its edge just a few inches from the rookies feet._

_Lt. Themm chose to swear then. "Damn. Looks like all this rain caused the river to rise and wash out the bridge. It'll take almost five hours if we turn around and come in on the other side."_

_Several people grumbled. They had come all this way for nothing._

_Hart and Luftnagle, however, looked up and down the river. Both spotted the same thing at the same time. "A tree bridge!" they both called out, pointing at a spot a little ways down the river._

_Lt. Themm looked at them, then at where they were both pointing. Indeed, there was a thick-trunked tree spanning across the raging river. Some of the bark had been stripped clean, leaving slippery spots on the wood. How long the tree had been like that, no one knew._

_Lt. Themm, Hart, and Luftnagle walked towards it, the others staying behind in order to pull up the rookie. Once done, they joined the trio, who now stood at the roots of the "tree bridge"._

_"I don't know about this, Hart, Luftnagle," Lt. Themm commented, touching the thick roots. "It appears to be safe, but looks **can** be deceivin'._"

_"I'll test it!" both officers offered at once._

_Lt. Themm thought for a moment. "Luftnagle, since you are heavier, I want you to go. Take this rope and wrap it around your waist. We'll hold onto the other end. If somethin' should happen, we should be able to hold you."_

_"Gee, that's a confidence booster," Luftnagle replied sarcastically. She roughly grabbed the rope and tied it around her thin waist. She then took off her utility belt and handed it to her younger partner. After making sure that the rope was secure, she proceeded to climb the roots. Once at the top, she slowly began walking across the log._

_At least there was a break from the rain._

_Hart watched his partner in silence, slowly giving the rope some slack as the bear inched across. There was a tense moment as she reached the middle of the trunk. Her foot slipped slightly on a barkless spot, causing her to stumble, but she quickly regained her footing._

_"You all right?" Themm called._

_"Yeah, yeah. I'm good!" the bear called back, waving dismissively. She began moving again, finally reaching her destination after about five or so minutes. Climbing down off the trunk, she waved._

_"Tie the rope to the tree behind you!" Themm yelled while Hart breathed a sigh of relief. He and Luftnagle may not always get along, but she was like an elder sister to him. "We can use it as a handle as we cross!"_

_Luftnagle did as she was told and tied it. The others tied their end of the rope to a tree behind them as well. Then, one by one, they all inched across the log._

_As if by fate, as the last person crossed, it began to rain._

_"Of course," Hart muttered._

**Flashback Interrupted**

"Can we speed things up a bit?" Ted interrupted.

"Yeah, and what exactly does this have to do with Beary?" Zeb questioned. "Or Helen?"

Hart surprised them all with his answer. He sighed and spoke. "A lot, actually." He waved off their questions. "You'll see. Please, let me continue."

They all nodded and he resumed his tale.

**Flashback Resumed**

_"All right! Let's continue! We have little light left!" Themm called as they began moving again._

_"What light? The only light we get, besides from our flashlights, is from the lightnin'! And we can barely see that because of the damn trees!" Luftnagle complained, earning a few chuckles from the others, and a sigh of exasperation from Hart._

_Themm looked at the bear with a bemused look before speaking again. "We should be meetin' our informant, and the person who found the body, momentarily. He claims that he was out hikin' this morning and stumbled upon the body. This may or may not be true, so be on guard."_

_"10-4," everyone responded._

_"Is that him?" the rookie asked, aiming his flashlight up ahead._

_A tall figure appeared out of the trees. His skin was dark and he wore a baseball cap. He wore a typical hiker's outfit and a backpack. He walked towards the group. "I'm Jack Sparrow. I discovered the body."_

_"We'll get your statement in a bit. Take us to the body," Themm ordered. "With the way this rain keeps fallin', the body could be swept away with the current."_

_"Well, I pulled her out of the water. And it wasn't easy, let me tell you," Jack commented, not noticing the smoldering glare he was receiving from Lt. Themm._

_"You. Disrupted. A. Crime. Scene?" she seethed. Each officer took step back. They all feared the Lieutenant's temper. Even Luftnagle feared it._

_"Well, I had to. The water was risin' too fast. The bear would've been swept away."_

_Luftnagle's eyes widened. "B-Bear?" she demanded, coming out of her usual grumpy and sarcastic attitude. Bears were natural swimmers, so it was unusual for a drowning victim to be a bear. Hart put a hand on her shoulder, a weak attempt at comfort._

_"Yeah. I saw a smaller cub with her, but as I drew close, it ran."_

_This made everyone freeze. Luftnagle looked up. "C-Cub? There was a cub?" she asked. "Was he or she hurt?"_

_Jack shook his head. "Not from what I could tell."_

_Hart took out a notebook. "Describe the cub as best as you can."_

_Jack thought for a moment. "Well, it was pretty small… I'd say around one and a half or two feet tall. Either golden brown or light brown… I couldn't really tell, but I'm sure I saw somethin' white around its neck."_

_"Damn," Themm muttered. She turned towards Hart and Luftnagle, who had come out of her shock, and spoke. "You two are our best trackers. Go search for the cub. There are many dangers in this forest. We'll go look at the mother."_

_"Affirmative!" the partners replied._

_"He went that way," Jack said, point away from the river and towards the dense trees._

_"When?" Luftnagle asked._

_"I'd say around two or three hours ago."_

_"And it's been rainin' since then… This is goin' to be difficult…" Hart muttered._

_"You have your radios?" Themm questioned. Both nodded. "Use channel three. That way we can keep in touch."_

_"Gotcha. Well, we're off."_

_The partners began walking in the general direction that the man had indicated. There was silence between them as they slowly walked through the trees. The storm seemed to be dying out; only the occasional rumble of thunder was heard overhead._

_It was darker in this part of the Salza Forest. There were many trees with large leaves that nearly blocked out the sky._

**Flashback Interrupted**

"Wait. What day was this?" Norbert asked. Dex looked at his father questioningly.

Hart thought for a moment. "May 29th, 1994."

"And you said the "Salza Forest", correct?"

Dex was beginning to put two and two together. His eyes widened. "You mean-"

Hart nodded and the Barringtons let out gasps.

The _Bears_ just looked confused.

"That definitely explains a lot," Norbert put in. "But why didn't anyone come looking for him?"

"Wha-" Tennessee began, but Hart cut him off.

"Please, let me continue. All will be explained."

**Flashback Resumed**

_Hey! Is there anyone out there?" Luftnagle called, sweeping the flashlight around. "Can you hear me, little one?"_

_It had been over an hour since they had started looking for the cub, and there had been nothing yet. There had been no word from the radio. Not even a crackle. It was as if they were in a dead zone._

_There was a flash of light up ahead. "Hello? Is anyone there?" a male voice called._

_"Police officers! Who are you?" Hart called back._

_"Forest ranger. My name is Will Turner. What's yours?" A figure stepped into the line of light and lowered his flashlight. He wore a tannish-green shirt, brown tie, and brownish-green pants. His skin was pale, and he wore a uniform hat._

_"I'm Officer Luftnagle," Luftnagle answered._

_"And I'm Officer Hart," Hart finished. "We're with the Shelbyville Police Department."_

**Flashback Interrupted**

"Shelbyville? Then why are you in Nashville?" Ted asked.

"I moved up here for a reason that will be explained in due time," Hart replied curtly. "Now, let me finish. My tale is almost done."

**Flashback Resumed**

_"And what are two Shelbyville cops doin' out here?" Turner asked._

_"We originally came here for a body that was found near the Alnis River. We recently learned that she, the victim, had had a cub with her," Luftnagle replied. "The cub is still alive somewhere out here. It's around one and a half or two feet tall, maybe two and a half, with golden brown or light brown fur. It had somethin' white around his neck. Have you seen him or her?"_

_"You must mean Beary!"_

_"Beary?"_

_"That's the only name he would give us. He said his name was Beary."_

_"Who in the Hell would name their cub 'Beary'?"_

_Hart rolled his eyes and shook his head. "What happened?" he asked Will._

_"Found him yesterday afternoon. The "somethin' white" around his neck was a tracker," Will answered._

_Both officers smiled. "Well, where is he? Is he safe?" Hart questioned._

_Will suddenly looked uncomfortable. He scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well, he's safe… But he's no longer in the Salza Forest..."_

_"What do you mean? Where is he?" Luftnagle demanded._

_"Well, we couldn't keep the little guy here, so we called a good family we knew and they took him home with them."_

_"YOU _**WHAT**_?" Luftnagle roared, obviously pissed._

_"Who?" Hart exclaimed._

_"The Barringtons…"_

**End Flashback**

Jaws dropped all around as each bear in the room turned to look at the Barrington family, who all ignored them and looked at Hart.

"Then why did no cops show up to pick him up? Why leave him with us for eight years?" Allison asked, once again trying to find out the answer.

"Because Helen didn't _accidently_ drown. She was shot and murdered."

Everyone in the room jumped a foot in the air and looked at the doorway. Henry stood there, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. "And Beary was… _is_ next," he went on.

"But, why?" Trixie exclaimed.

"That's a story for another day. When this is all over, I may tell you about it."

"Well, that helps out a lot…" Ted muttered.

Jewel gasped. "Wait… You're saying that Beary's father… is the manager of the _Country Bears_?"

Henry looked at her and nodded.

"Well, something tells me Beary's gonna be excited."

No one could hold back their laughter. They all knew that this would probably be true.

Henry cleared his throat. "The important thing is that I believe I know where Beary is. Call it a hunch, but Adam was notorious for returning to the "scene of the crime", so to speak," the aged bear said in a dangerous voice.

"You think he went back to the Salza Forest?" Hart asked, slightly surprised.

"No. I'm saying that I know him, or used to know him, well enough to **_know_** he did."


	10. Chapter Nine

.~*Chapter Nine*~.

"If you are correct about this, then we need to move now," Hart said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ted exclaimed as he looked at Henry. "You're sayin' that you _knew_ this guy?"

Henry ignored him and continued looking at Hart and James. "You will need me to come. That cabin is pretty well hidden," Henry replied.

"I thought ya said ya didn' know where Helen wen' all those years ago, Hen," Fred commented.

"Yeah!" the other _Bears_ agreed.

"I lied." Henry sighed. "It was to protect the cub, all right? I knew the cub had survived. If I had told you the truth, you might've let it slip. Adam or one of his many friends could've heard and gone after him." He waved off their questions. "Not now. I'll you all later!"

"He's right," James put in. "Every second we waste standing here is another second that the cub might be dead." Everyone winced; tears fell from Jewel's eyes. James didn't notice, however, as he turned to his partner. "Time to go?"

Hart nodded and looked back at Henry. "Well, we are goin' to need your help findin' the cabin, as you've said, so…"

Henry nodded and looked at the others. All had dropped jaws.

Tennessee was the first to regain his composure. He walked over to the older bear and placed a paw on his shoulder. "Bring him home, Henry. Safe and sound."

Trixie was next. "We need our Heart back," she said while gripping his other shoulder.

Jewel looked at the elder bear tearfully. "Bring back my best friend…" she whispered. "Bring back my brother…" It broke everyone's heart to hear her say that.

Fred spoke next, saying something similar to Jewel's plead. "I wan' my lil' buddy back."

Zeb half-smiled. "The band ain't complete without him."

"I want my little brother back." With a smirk, Dex added, "It's too quiet around here without him." He got a few weak chuckles for that comment.

Ted frowned. "There are three families that are not complete without him: Yours, the Barringtons, and our family."

"Well said," Tasha said. "But you are forgetting one family."

Ted looked at her, as did the others, confused. "Whose?"

"Ours. The Stones," she answered. "He's like a son to me and James, and a brother to Jordan and Jewel."

Jewel nodded in agreement.

Allison and Norbert cleared their throats. All eyes turned to them. "We're going to have a lot to talk about soon, Henry," Norbert calmly said.

"But, please… **_please_** bring him home," Allison whispered as Norbert wrapped an arm around her waist.

Henry walked over to her and gently placed a paw on her shoulder. "I will. This has gone on long enough. It's time Adam and I settle things before someone else is killed."

Standing next to the wall, Roadie didn't say anything. Sure, he wanted the cub back, but he just didn't know how to voice his concern.

Hart cleared his throat. "Well, um, we'd better get goin'. We have a long journey ahead of us, you know."

Henry followed the two officers out of the house. Everyone stood in silence for a few minutes, praying that Henry's hunch was correct.

Tennessee suddenly gasped. He turned towards the Barrington adults and asked for a pen and pad of paper. Once receiving the items, he began writing, confusing the others. After a few minutes, he showed the others. "Help me with this."

They all smiled when they saw what he had begun writing. Within a few moments, everyone was calling out ideas, the Barrington parents included.

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

Henry sat in the back of the bear-sized police cruiser. They had been traveling for almost half an hour now. No one had said much of anything the entire car ride. All were anxious. If this turned out to be a wild goose chase, then they had no idea where to go next. But, if this turned out to be a go, then Hart would have to call for backup… and most likely a medical evac.

Henry tried not to think about it. He feared what the cub would look like when they got there. There was nothing he could do right now except to wonder and pray that the cub was still alive.

James looked in the rearview mirror at the older bear, who seemed to have aged ten years in the past two weeks. Being a father himself, he could almost understand what Henry was going through. Would he be feeling the same thing if Jordan, his son, was kidnapped? He had felt the same way when Jewel ran off. She may not be his daughter biologically, but… still. He had raised her since she was two months old because her mother wasn't able to.

He could still remember the day Trixie had arrived on the doorstep…

**Flashback**

_Night had fallen a couple hours ago on that winter night. The newlyweds of one and one-third months sat on the dark green sofa. Tasha St. Claire Stone rested her dark head on her mate's shoulder while he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "_Back to the Future: Part 2_" was on the television._

_"Kids…" Tasha whispered dreamily._

_James glanced at her in surprise. "You want kids already?" he chuckled._

_She smirked seductively. "Well, we aren't gettin' any younger, you know. Twenty-one and ready…"_

_James was about to suggest going up to the bedroom, but the doorbell rang, cutting off his response. "Now who on Earth would come here at this hour?" he grumbled, most upset that the mood had been ruined. He got up and walked over to the door. Swinging it open, he all but yelled, "Do you have any freakin' idea what time—TRIXIE? What the hell?"_

_Tasha's blue eyes widened in disbelief. She got up and walked quickly towards her mate, who had gotten over his shock at seeing his sister-in-law on the front porch, and invited Trixie inside._

_Upon seeing her sister, the golden-furred female embraced her black-furred younger sister. Tears fell from her forest-green eyes._

_"Trix, what's going on?" Tasha asked. "Did something happen with Tennessee?" A nod was her only answer. "Come on. Sit on the couch and tell me all about it, all right?" Again, a nod was her only answer. She guided her sister over to the couch, then looked at James. "Can you make us some hot chocolate?" she asked, knowing that Trixie hated coffee._

_James nodded and went into the kitchen, leaving the siblings alone for a few minutes. When he returned, he was carrying a tray that had three cups upon it. He set it down on the coffee table, then sat down in the armchair next to the couch. He didn't know Trixie that well, but he liked her. "I've heard a rumor that the _Bears_ are breaking up," he said, hoping to start a conversation. He knew that she was a part of the band; not a major part, though. But, it had paid for Tasha's schooling, until the money ran out. Medical school simply cost too much. He was planning on using his own money, well, the parts not needed for groceries, bills, and other things, for her schooling so she could go back._

_Trixie cleared her throat and softly spoke. "That's true. They've been arguing a lot. Everyone's been so grumpy…" She took a sip of her cocoa. "I don't know how he… any of them… would take the news…"_

_"What news?" Tasha asked, holding her sister's golden paw. "What's going on?"_

_"It was an accident… We didn't mean for it to happen! I'm not ready for this!" Trixie cried. "I couldn't tell him! I had to leave… Now he's gonna hate me…" She broke down into tears once more._

_Tasha took Trixie's cub and placed it on the tray. "Sissy," she soothed, using an old nickname, "tell me what's going on."_

_Trixie swallowed and whispered, "I'm pregnant."_

_Tasha immediately hugged her. "But that's great!" Seeing Trixie's fearful face, she became unsure. "Isn't it?"_

_"Well, yeah. But I have no way to care for the cub!" Trixie cried._

_"How long?" James asked._

_"T-Three and a half months," the golden bear whispered again._

_Tasha's and James' eyes widened in surprise. "B-But you're halfway through your pregnancy!" Tasha exclaimed._

_"And no one's noticed?" James questioned, astonished. It was obvious that the bear was pregnant, now that he knew what was going on. He had, at first, just thought she had gained weight._

_"They were beginning to notice that I was gaining weight. That's when I knew I had to get out of there," the singer/keyboarder said quietly. "I think Helen suspected, but she didn't say anything… She's pregnant, too. Half a month."_

_"That's great!" Tasha exclaimed. She knew how long Helen and Henry had been trying for a cub. It was like a dream come true for the couple._

_"Trixie, you can stay with us for as long as you need to," James said after a few minutes._

_Tasha looked at him surprise. Trixie didn't move. Looking at her sister, Tasha saw that she was asleep. Husband and wife smiled. Tasha then helped the sleeping bear lay back on the couch, while James grabbed a warm blanket and gently placed it on top of his sister-in-law._

_Then, quietly, both bears left the room._

**~Time Skip~**

_A week after Trixie had arrived at the Stones' home, Tennessee showed up._

_Trixie hid upstairs with her sister while James answered the door. "What are you doing here?" he asked._

_"We're on our _Farewell Tour_. Iowa was one of our stops, so I said that we should come here."_

_"Ah."_

_"Have you seen Trixie?" the band member asked. He was wearing a blue sweater with green stripes. His light brown eyes were filled with both hope and sadness. One paw was behind his back._

_James felt pity for the bear. "Sorry," he lied. "She hasn't been here."_

_Tennessee's shoulders slumped and he let out a sad sigh. Pulling something out from behind his back, he handed it to James. "If you see her, could you give her this?"_

_James looked at the papers he now held in his paws. '_Sheet music?_' he wondered. He looked at the title and smiled. "_Can Love Stand the Test_" was the name of the song. He looked back at the disgruntled bear. "I will, Tennessee. I promise."_

_Tennessee smiled softly. "Thanks…" Then, without further words, he turned and left._

_Shortly after that, Trixie and Tasha came down. James handed the music to Trixie, who sat down on the couch and read it. Tears fell down her cheeks._

**~Time Skip~**

_"It's a healthy baby girl."_

_"She's _beautiful_, Trix!" Tasha complimented._

_Trixie St. Claire was on the bed in the guest bedroom, fur wet with sweat from just giving birth._

_Dr. Peterson, an elderly, pepper-furred, female bear, wrapped the newborn cub in a warm blanket. Then she carefully and gently handed the bundle to the new mother. "Well, everythin' seems to be in order, so I will take my leave." She filled out a birth certificate. "I'll send you a copy as soon as it has been filed with the county. Who shall I say is the father?"_

_"T-Tennessee O'Neal," Trixie whispered._

_She noted that down. "Thank you. Take care."_

_"Thank you, Dr. Peterson," Tasha said._

_Trixie was fascinated by the newborn cub that now rested in her arms. Strangely, the cub didn't cry. She just cooed softly. Her eyes were closed and wouldn't open for a few weeks along with her ears._

_"She looks just like her mother," James commented softly as he held Tasha's paw. "And something tells me she's gonna act just like her… At worse, Tennessee… When that bear has sugar…" He winced._

_Trixie sighed softly as she gently caressed her daughter's soft golden cheek. "Jewel Destiny. Her name is Jewel Destiny St. Claire," she said as the cub cooed again. Trixie's eyes slowly began to close. _

_Tasha took the now sleeping cub from her sister's arms and gently placed her in the crib at the foot of the bed. Then, silently, husband and wife left the room._

**~Time Skip~**

_"Trix, are you **sure** you want to do this?" Tasha asked while Trixie fed Jewel with a bottle of warm milk._

_"I can't take care of her, Tash. I don't have any way to-" Trixie began._

_"Then stay here!" James exclaimed._

_Trixie closed her eyes. "I can't. I'll help pay for her needs by sending money from any gigs I perform. If I can find any…"_

_"Trix, don't say that! You have a beautiful voice and you are a wonderful pianist!" Tasha argued. "Anybody who passed you up would be passing up a fortune!"_

_Trixie smiled softly and looked at the small cub in her arms. She hated the idea of parting from her beautiful daughter, who's eyes had only just opened to reveal forest green ones, but she had no other choice. Raising a child on the road wasn't a good idea. It was no place for such a youngen._

_Gently, she nosed her auburn haired daughter, kissing her snout, and whispering soothingly to her. It was breaking her heart to give her up._

_"Are you going to try and find Tennessee and patch things up with him?" James questioned softly._

_"That's one of my goals. Once I find him, I'm gonna set things straight. Then I'll be back for Jewel." Trixie sighed. "I don't know where to begin looking, though. I don't even know how I'm getting back to the state of Tennessee…"_

_"How did you get out here in Iowa, then?"_

_"Bus. It took almost all the money I had to get here."_

_"We'll pay for the ticket, then. It's the least we can do," Tasha said._

_Trixie's eyes widened. "I can't accept that!"_

_"You gave us a daughter, Trix. Though she may not exactly be adopted, but…"_

_Trixie smiled. "Thank you…"_

**End Flashback**

It was about another three months after Trixie left the now-five-month-old cub with the Stones, that another pregnant bear arrived…

Almost too late.

**Flashback**

_Tasha Stone was very surprised when she opened the front door, one warm afternoon at the end of May, and found Helen Taylor standing there, holding her large belly. "Helen!" she exclaimed, immediately helping the bear inside. "JAMES!" she yelled._

_James came jogging into the room and skidded to a halt at the sight of the light brown-furred bear in labor. He didn't know Helen as well as Tasha did, but that didn't stop him from acting. He helped lower the pregnant bear to the floor, and then went to grab some blankets._

_"How far apart are the contractions?" he heard Tasha ask._

_"A-About… t-th-three… m-minutes…" Helen gasped. "It's… t-too… late! It's… too... late!"_

_"How did you get out here?" Tasha questioned._

_James entered the room, handed the blankets to his mate, then asked, "Does that really matter at this moment, Tash?"_

_Tasha glared at him for a moment before answering. "Just call Dr. Peterson, all right? I don't like the looks of this."_

_James nodded and left the room. He knew Helen was in capable paws at the moment._

**~Time Skip~**

_"Well, he's a bit on the small side, considering he's almost a month late, but he's a healthy baby boy," Dr. Peterson said softly, looking at the tiny bundle in Helen's arms. "And he has a good pair of lungs," she added as the cub began to cry loudly. She then turned to Tasha. "Very nice delivery. I couldn't have done better with the situation. If you hadn't of been here, we could've lost the cub. You have a medical background?"_

_"Sort of," Tasha replied as she took the crying newborn from the exhausted Helen. "I was unable to pay the tuition, so I had to drop out my senior year of medical school."_

_Dr. Peterson sighed. "How far into your senior year?"_

_"Halfway," Tasha answered quietly. She handed the newborn to James._

_"I can help you finish, if you want. I do need some help at the office, and you **do** meet the qualifications…"_

_"Well, it's something to think about," James said before Tasha could decline the offer. "I can take care of Jewel while you are at work."_

_Tasha answered her husband with a kiss on the cheek._

_Dr. Peterson clapped her paws together. "Well, then it's settled." She looked at her watch. "Ack! I'd better get goin'. We'll talk later, all right?" She left before Tasha had a chance to remind her of the birth certificate._

**~Time Skip~**

_"What do you mean 'they're gone'?!" Tasha hissed._

_James sighed. "Like I said. I took Jewel with me to the store and left Helen and Beary here. I was gone maybe an hour, and when I got back, they were gone!" he answered._

_"Where could they have gone? We don't even know why they were out here in the first place!" Tasha fretted…_

**End Flashback**

"Hey, uh, Henry?" James asked.

"Yeah?"

"Why did Helen come down to Iowa eleven years ago?"

Henry sighed. "To hide Beary's birth. Unfortunately **_he_** still found out."

Hart looked into the rearview mirror at the bear. "Adam?" he questioned.

The bear nodded.

James was confused. "Why does Adam want the cub dead?"

"I only want to tell the story once. Now is not the time," the widower answered softly. "I don't like to think about it… Surely you can understand that."

Both officers nodded. They **could** understand. Who _really_ wanted to talk about a murderer? Especially when said murderer killed your mate and attempted to kill your cub as well?

Hart broke up the silence. "We're here."

Henry's eyes widened as he looked out the window at the familiar trees. He hadn't been out here since a few days before Helen's death. That was the last time he had seen his cub until a year ago. He shivered. Beary _had_ to be here. He just **_had_** to be. If he wasn't…

He didn't want to think about it.

"All right, Henry. Direct us. Was there a special path you used to get to the cabin?" Hart asked as they stepped out of the cruiser.

"Not until we get further into the forest," the pepper-furred bear answered while taking off his hat and tossing it into the back of the cruiser.

"How far?" James asked as they began walking through the trees.

"A couple miles. Oh, and the "path" is hidden very well. If you haven't been here before, you wouldn't notice it."

As they walked, none of them noticed a large figure following them. As they drew further into the trees, they didn't hear, smell, or see the flames that were quickly wrapping around the forest.

They didn't know how long they had been walking, but Henry suddenly stopped. "We're here."

There was a small path, so overgrown with weeds and small plants that one wouldn't have noticed it if it wasn't for the fact that some of the plants and weeds were downtrodden.

"They _are_ here…" Henry whispered. "No one else would've known about this path." He led the way down the path.

They were walking for about five minutes when a loud **_crack!_** echoed through the trees.

Immediately recognizing the sound as a gunshot, Hart and James pulled out their guns (James' gun being slightly larger than Hart's) and moved to either side of Henry. Slowly and carefully, they continued moving. Fifteen minutes later, a dainty little log cabin came into view. Long vines of ivy climbed the spotty, moss-covered walls. If one wasn't looking closely enough, one would've completely missed the little cabin. As they drew closer, they saw the front door was wide open.

James sniffed the air. "Blood," he growled. "And it's fresh."

Henry's heart quickened. He, too, could smell the coppery scent of the crimson liquid, even if he could not see it.

They slowly continued walking towards the cabin, their muscles tense and ready to move. Just outside of the door, they moved to either side of the doorframe, which was riddled with old bullet holes.

"This is the police! Come out with your hands up!" Hart yelled, his voice echoing throughout the trees.

There was no movement or response from within the cabin.

James glanced around in confusion. "You yelled loud enough to scare every creature within a mile of here… Why is there no noise?" he asked.

Hart's eyes widened. "Somethin's off," he muttered before jumping in front of the door, gun poised and ready. Checking to see that the room ahead of him was secure, he called, "Clear!" Looking down, he noticed several bloody footprints. "They're leadin' into the forest," he said after a minute. "You two follow them. I'll look in here."

"10-4," James answered. He looked at Henry. "Stay close," he ordered. Henry nodded and the two bears followed the blood trail. After about four minutes, the blood began to appear closer together. "Whoever it is, is slowing," he muttered, his gun still drawn.

The bloody trail ended in a small, dark form that was slumped against a tree trunk. In the light that managed to reach them through the numerous leaves, they could see a gaunt, almost white-furred face. The dark eyes were closing.

Henry immediately recognized the form as the missing cub, Beary. He moved as fast as he possibly could and took the injured cub into his arms. Looking into the fading hazel green eyes, he cried out, "Stay with me, Beary! Stay with me!" But Beary's eyes closed before he could finish the sentence.

"Oh, my gosh…" James whispered in horror as he took in the sight of the cub. Then he saw the metal collar around his neck with a thick chain attached to it. "They _chained _him?"

Henry continued trying to wake the cub, but to no avail. That's when he noticed the rubbed-raw skin on his snout.

James noticed it as well. "A muzzle, too!" The black bear swore. "We have to get him back to the cabin," he continued. "Maybe there is some medical supplies there. It's the only chance he has right now."

Henry nodded and picked the cub up, surprised at how light he was. "He's so light…" he whispered.

"I'm guessing they gave him little to no food," James replied. "Bastards." He grabbed his radio and spoke into it. "Hart, we found the cub. I repeat, we found the cub. We're coming back to the cabin."

"_10-4_," Hart replied. "_How's he doin'?_"

"He's hurt and barely conscious. We're going to need an evac copter… Fast. I don't know how much longer he's gonna last."

"_10-4. Hurry._"

"10-4." James looked back at the band manager. "Let's get going. The sooner we get back to the cabin, the better."

Henry just nodded, not even looking at the dark-furred bear; he only had eyes for his long-lost son.

_.~*~._

Hart was standing in the doorway when they arrived. His eyes widened when he saw the cub—with the collar and chain still around its neck—in Henry's arms. "Good Lord. What have they _done_ to him?"

"I don't know… But they're going to pay for it," Henry growled darkly.

"Lay him down so I can examine him," Hart said. "I have a little trainin'."

Henry did so, gently laying the cub on the ground outside of the cabin door. He was still marveling over the fact that the cub… his _son_ was so light.

Hart knelt next the cub, unwrapped the now-crimson scarf from around his leg, and began his examination. "Well, he has a bullet entry in his left thigh. I don't see an exit wound anywhere, though. And judgin' by the amount of blood on the scarf, the bullet may have nicked an artery." He sighed and carefully rewrapped the injury. "If we don't get him to a hospital soon…

Henry's heart froze at the implication. He'd already lost his mate… He _wasn't_ about to lose his son. "When's the copter going to get here?" he asked.

Hart checked his watch. "ETA's about 10-30 minutes."

"You won't be alive long enough to meet it."

The new voice made everyone jump in surprise. They all turned to see a great black bear, whose thick fur was spotted with silver. He wore only a gray leather vest and baggy black shorts.

"Adam," Henry growled angrily, his eyes filled with rage and his ears flat.


	11. Chapter Ten

.~*Chapter Ten*~.

"So nice to see you again, Henry. Did you miss me?" the bear asked sarcastically. He glanced at the still form of the cub. "Aren't you glad that I've reunited you with your long-lost son?"

Henry scooped up and held the upper half of Beary in his arms, the cub's bottom and legs still on the ground. "You leave my son out of this, Adam!"

James and Hart stood next to the father and son, both of their guns aimed at the murderer. "We have you outnumbered! You are under arrest for kidnappin', murder-"

Adam cut him off. "I haven't murdered anyone… _yet_." He frowned. "I shot Helen, yes, but I didn't _kill_ her. The river and a friend did that for me." He grinned. "Oh, well. At least the job was done."

If Henry hadn't been holding Beary, he would've charged at his former best friend. "It's still **_your_** fault that the cub grew up without his real mother!" he growled.

"He wasn't supposed to have survived. He should've died along with her. It was just dumb luck." His grin turned into a psychotic smile. His eyes were filled with the promise of revenge. "Now's the time to rectify the situation. Now we will _all_ burn to death."

Everyone's eyes widened. "What do you me-" James broke off as he sniffed the air. "Oh, gods! You didn't!"

"I did. As soon as you entered the forest, I dropped a match on the trail of gasoline that I so _painstakingly_ made around the forest. You were surrounded by flames before you even reached the cabin. There's no hope for any of us now."

By now, everyone could smell the putrid scent of heavy smoke. The crackling in the trees and on the ground made itself known. Bright flames were seen in the distance.

Henry tried to reason with his former best friend. "Adam, the cub has _nothing_ to do with this! Just let him go and take me!"

Adam became angry. "No, Henry. He has _everythin'_ to do with this! Why should _your _cub while _mine_ died because of _you_?"

"It's _your_ fault that your wife and cub died! You were drinking! You killed Julie and Chris!" Henry accused.

"No, Henry. It's _your_ fault and always has been." Adam laughed psychotically. "Now you will _all_ die. Won't that be nice, Hen? You and your son **_both_** get to see your mate in _Infernos_!"

"I know the truth, Adam. Julie told me the truth. She told me what you did to her in order to get her to marry you."

Adam's eyes filled with rage. "That lousy bitch. Spreadin' lies!"

"Don't deny it, Adam. She didn't want to marry you! She told me herself!"

The black bear didn't say anything. He just glared at his former friend. "I'll see you in Hell, then, Henry," he said darkly after a moment.

"Answer me one question, Adam. You owe me that much."

Adam thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Very well. What is your question."

Henry glanced down at his unconscious son for a moment before lifting his angered hazel green eyes to his ex-friend. "How did you find out that my son was still alive?"

A deep chuckle met his ears. "To be honest, up until a year ago, I thought he _was _dead. I thought he had gotten swept away in the current."

"Then, how-"

"You really should make sure that cub stays out of newspaper pictures. Imagine my surprise when I open the newspaper a year ago and see you standin' next to male Helen."

Henry's eyes widened in horror. So it was true… If Beary hadn't gotten the _Bears_ back together, he wouldn't have been in that newspaper picture with Henry and rest of the band.

"Oh, and just to let you know, **_I_** made that bullet that now resides in the cub's leg. **_I _**made the tranquilizer darts. I trust you understand what that means…" He was, after all, a master of poisons.

The crackling grew louder, drowning out the rest of Adam's sentence. Henry immediately scooped up his cub and placed the small snout against his chest, trying to shield him from the smoke. He looked at the others. "We have to get out of here!" he yelled over the noise of the fire that was inching closer and closer.

"I couldn't agree more, Henry," James answered loudly. They both looked at Hart, only to find him still pointing his gun at Adam, who had somehow produced a gun as well.

"You two get Beary out of here!" Hart ordered. "I can hold him off!" Seeing their hesitation, he growled, "Do you want the kid to die? Go to the meadow! It's on the other side of the river! Go! NOW!"

The two bears nodded. However reluctant they were at leaving the human, they knew he was right. As they ran, James radioed in their situation.

"You won't escape! There's no way out!" Adam cackled. "By the time you make it to the river, if you ain't blocked by the fire first, the meadow will be overcome by flames! None of us are makin' it out of this alive!"

The two bears continued moving, only to come to a halt when a wall of flames appeared. "This way!" James yelled, going in a different direction. They were stopped again by a wall of flames. Trying again in another direction, they met the same results. Eventually, they were forced back to the cabin.

"W-We're t-trapped!" Henry choked. He looked down at the unconscious cub in his arms. A tear slipped down his cheek as the forest fire roared around them.

_The cellar… Go to the cellar…_

Hearing the familiar voice in his head, Henry's eyes widened. '_Helen… You're still looking out for us…_'

_Of course. Did you expect otherwise? Don't answer that. Get going or Beary's not gonna survive!_

Henry smiled. "O-Our o-only chance is the c-cellar!" he cried out, still coughing on the thick smoke that was beginning to obscure his vision. "I-It has n-noth-thin' to b-burn! W-We'd b-be sa-safe!"

Hart nodded. "G-Get in t-there! I-I'll fol-follow!"

"A-Adam, c-come on!" Henry called. He may hate the bear, but he couldn't just let him die.

Adam threw down his gun. "Never," he answered darkly. "T-Today I re-rejoin J-Julie and C-Chris as a hero!" With that, he backed into the flames, ignoring their horrified cries. White hot flames surrounded the black bear, licking at the coarse fur. The gun he'd been holding previously lay discarded at the edge of the torrent, the silver surface reflecting the colors. The dark bear chuckled maniacally as the flames began to burn him, the orange tongues spreading through his coat like wildfire.

All three of them forced themselves to turn away and enter the cabin. As they reached the long hallway, Henry handed Beary to James. "I'm gonna qui-ckly grab some more band-ages," he said. Then, without waiting for an answer, he moved into the room.

Memories flooded his mind. Making love to his wife, playing with his child, curling up with Helen and Beary on the bed, singing with Helen to their sole child…

Spotting the open dresser drawer, he pulled out whatever he could. Then, for added measure, he grabbed a couple of the pictures from on top of the dresser. Stepping back, he let out a surprised yelp as his feet touched something other than the floor.

It was then that he noticed the broken picture frame at his feet. Leaning over, he picked it up and gasped. It was the picture taken of him, Helen, and their newborn cub, just a few weeks after Beary was born. A tear came to his eye. Quickly, he added it to his pile.

Once done, he left the room and went down to the cellar, shutting the cellar door behind him.

James and Hart were in a back corner, the unconscious Beary between them. If it wasn't for the flashlights they had, Henry wouldn't have seen them. The cellar smelled horrible. It was as if it hadn't been cleaned in a very long time. As he came down the stairs, he stumbled over something. Looking down, his eyes widened.

"He's dead," Hart muttered, not looking up.

"How?" Henry asked as he knelt down next to the cub and set down his load.

Hart looked down at the cub and Henry's eyes widened. Hart, spotting the cloths, immediately grabbed the scarf that was at the top of the pile, shook it, and then handed it to James. He unwrapped the stained scarf from around Beary's leg. Blood immediately gurgled out of the wound. Dropping the stained scarf on the floor, he grabbed the other one and quickly rewrapped the wound. Sighing, he said, "He needs blood… Fast." He closed his eyes. "If we don't get him out of here soon… he's not going to make it."

For a moment, Beary's eyes opened briefly. "Henry…?" he asked, his voice just barely a whisper.

Everyone's eyes widened. "Beary? Beary, can you hear me?" Henry asked, scooping him up and holding the upper half of his thin body in his arms; the cub's bottom and legs still on the ground.

The cub whispered Henry's name again before his eyes closed and he slipped back into unconsciousness.

"Beary! Beary, wake up!" Henry cried. When the cub didn't answer, he softly whispered, "I've got you, Beary… We're gonna get out of this…"

James punched the floor in anger. "This isn't right!" he growled.

"No. No it's not," Henry agreed, gently rocking the cub back and forth.

"How can things possibly get any worse?" Hart muttered, looking at the terrified father and cub that would die if he didn't receive medical treatment fast.

As if the world was cursing them, smoke began to slip under the door and into the cellar.

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

"It's done!" Tennessee exclaimed after an hour and a half. "Well, the words, at least… Now we just need to add music…"

As the adults—mainly the Bears and Tasha, who was a songwriter as well as a doctor—helped him with that, a bad feeling settled in Jewel's stomach.

Something was wrong. _Very_ wrong.

Trying to shake the feeling, she went into the kitchen and turned on the TV. The channel that was on was CNN. About to change the channel, a new story appeared on the screen, causing her to let out a startled cry and ran back out to the living room, switching on the large TV when she entered the room.

"Jewel, what the-" Tasha broke off when she saw the news broadcast. Everyone's eyes widened.

The headline at the bottom of the screen was, "**FOREST FIRE IN SALZA FOREST**". Below that was a sub-heading: "**PEOPLE TRAPPED**". Above all of that was live footage of the raging wildfire.

Someone was speaking. "_…The fire started just thirty minutes ago and already is a raging inferno. Firefighters just arriving at the scene were informed that there are people trapped within the flames: Two police officers and two civilians, one of which is seriously injured and in need of emergency care._"

"Oh, **_crap_**," Dex exclaimed, saying the one thing that was on everyone's mind.

"Oh, gods…" Tasha whispered in horror. "James…"

Jewel looked at her mother, worry showing clearing in her forest green eyes. "Daddy, Mr. Hart, Henry, and Beary are gonna be all right, right?" she asked, gripping her "mother's" paw. She didn't notice Tennessee's flinch, but Tasha did.

She looked at Tennessee, then at the young cub. "Of, course, Jewel. They're all gonna be okay."

After a moment, Dex's eyes widened. "Wait. They said **_two_** civilians…" He looked at the others. "Do you think…?"

The others nodded before turning back to the TV.

"_Authorities do not know for sure what started the blaze at this time. They do know, however, that this fire has spread unnaturally rapidly. With no wind, the fire shouldn't have spread this fast. We have reason to believe that gasoline was used, as several men could smell it upon arrival. They also found several gasoline canisters…_"

Eyes widened all around in horror. "A trap… It was a trap…" Fred whispered.

"They walked right into a trap," Zeb growled, clenching his paws. "Damn it!"

Jewel just continued to stare at the TV screen, her eyes wide and full of tears.

Unnoticed by everyone but her sister and boyfriend, Trixie reached over and squeezed the cub's shoulders. After a moment, Tennessee did the same. This was the first physical contact he had ever had with his cub. For Trixie, it was the first time in many years.

"_All efforts are being made to reach the trapped victims…_" the woman went on as a helicopter appeared onscreen, dropping a cascading waterfall on the fire. It did little good, however, as the flames continued to spread amongst the trees.

The telephone ringing startled them all. Immediately, Dex made a grab for it, getting a hold of it just before Norbert did. "Hello?" His eyes widened. "Yes, go on."

Everyone tried to hear the conversation as best as they could, but were failing miserably.

"Are you serious? You mean it?"

"Dex, what is it?" Norbert asked.

The teen just waved his father off. "So they are still _there_? Yeah, we're watching it on CNN… Okay, thanks." He turned off the phone with a happy smirk. "They found him. Alive."

As one, everyone let out loud yells of excitement. Allison burst into tears of joy, and was immediately hugged by her husband. Jewel started doing a little excited dance. The _Bears_ either high-fived each other or, in Tennessee and Trixie's case, shared a little kiss.

"There's more…" Dex went on, his happy expression gone.

All excitement vanished as all eyes returned to the unhappy teen.

"They're trapped in the middle of the friggin' fire, completely surrounded by flames. The fire is closing in on them, and…" His voice became hard. "Beary's hurt. Bad. The Police Station doesn't know any more, having lost contact with them."

"Oh, sh-"

"Jewel!"

"Sorry."

Ted let out a dangerous growl. "We have to go down there. When they get them out of there, the nearest hospital is in Shelbyville."

"The bus is all gassed up and ready to go," Roadie commented, his eyes filled with anger.

"Take Jewel with you. I'll bring Jordan in the car," Tasha said with a glance at her sister. Since Jordan knew that Trixie was his aunt, but Jewel didn't, having Jordan ride in the _Bears'_ bus with Trixie and Jewel would lead to disaster.

Trixie and Tennessee tried not to seem so eager when they answered. Fortunately, they succeeded. "All right," the both said, getting some confused looks from the others.

Jewel's eyes emptied of tears and filled with excitement. It was as if she had forgotten all about the bad situation. "M-Me? R-Ride in the _C-Country B-Bears_ t-t-tour bus?" she exclaimed. "R-Really?"

The _Bears'_ shared amused glances with each other at her enthusiasm, despite the terrible situation.

"Let's go!" the cub exclaimed, bounding for the front door. Throwing it open, she rushed outside.

"I swear, she's more like you every day, Trix," Tasha said without thinking. Realizing what she said, she gasped and put her paws over her mouth. Glancing at Trixie and Tennessee, she whispered, "Oops…?"

Trixie facepalmed. "Brilliant job, sis," she complimented sarcastically as she glowered at her now-nervous sister. "Why don't you just tell them who the father is while you're at it?"

"Trix, I don't think now's the time for this," Tennessee muttered, placing a paw on her shoulder, mainly to keep her from strangling her sister.

Zeb, getting over his surprise at Tasha's announcement, looked at Tennessee in confusion. "Why aren't you flippin' out?" Realization dawning on him, he widened his eyes, as did just about everyone else. "No…" He glanced back and forth between the two, who were now avoiding everyone's eyes. "You didn't!"

"He didn't find out until recently, Zeb," Trixie said in forced calmness. "And _she_ doesn't know yet. So **_don't_** say anything," she added, glaring at them all. She looked once again at her sister and muttered, "I'm going to _kill_ you."

Tasha backed away and hid behind Tennessee.

The Barringtons just watched the scene in confusion. They didn't exactly know what was going on, but were following as closely as they possibly could.

"Well, that definitely explains a lot," Ted muttered, suppressing a small grin.

"I'm still in shock. I mean, I could kinda tell that she was-" Zeb broke off as Jewel came back into the room.

"Uh, are we going or what?" she demanded, placing her paws on her hips, reminding everyone of her real mother. And with her wearing an outfit similar to the keyboardist, only that it was black, had blue sapphires on fire with blue flames as the pattern, and a blue hem.

Roadie, amused at everyone's reactions, went to the door. "Come on, Jewel. Let's get loaded into the bus while these guys… uh… gape," he chuckled as he guided her out of the house.

Upon Jewel's entry of the bus, her reaction was much like Beary's when he had first gotten onto the bus.

"Scary…" Fred muttered as he watched them out the front window. The others, sans Tennessee and Trixie, nodded in agreement.

The Barringtons were next. But just before Dex left the house, he ran upstairs and came back down a few minutes later, carrying a large black book. "Had a little trouble finding the darn thing. He's gonna need _something_ to do," he said to his parents, who nodded in understanding. None of them even glanced at the bears as they left the house.

"We'll talk later," Trixie promised the others. Then, she and Tennessee followed the humans. The others glanced at each other before following.

Tasha followed last, walking towards her home to pick up her son. If they had stayed only a moment longer, they would've noticed the headline on the TV stating that a burned body had been found in the forest…


	12. Chapter Eleven

.~*Chapter Eleven*~.

James began coughing. The ceiling was covered by a thin layer of smoke, but it was enough to irritate everyone's throats. "This is **_so_** not good," he complained.

"You're tellin' me," Hart agreed as he took Beary's pulse. After a moment, he swore. "Damn! We have to get out of here **_now_**! We can't wait any longer! If we have to walk through flames, so be it."

"H-How-" -cough- "-ba-bad is it?" Henry asked between coughs as he gently stroked the cub's head.

"He… He's just barely hangin' on…"

James didn't wait another moment. He had seen this cub being born; he sure as _hell _didn't want to watch him die. He took the still form from Henry—as surprised as Henry was when he felt just how light the cub was—and covered the small snout with another piece of clothing that Henry had grabbed. "Follow me. We'll only get one chance at this."

Henry placed the four photographs he had grabbed in his vest pockets, thankful that they were small pictures, and then stood next to James. "Let's go."

Hart nodded. "I'll open the door." He moved up the stairs, choking on the smoke, and positioned himself next to the door. "Re-" -cough- "-ady?" The two bears nodded and the human forced the door open, charging out. The two bears quickly followed; James being mindful of Beary's head so that it wouldn't hit the wall as they moved. Heaven know that the cub didn't need any **_more_** injuries.

Henry followed after James, coughing harshly on the smoke.

Bursting through the cellar door, they all just about slipped on the wet floor. "What the-" Hart exclaimed as he _did_ slip on the floor and fall on his butt.

"Who the hell are you?" a muffled voice yelled in surprise.

The three adults looked in the direction of the voice in confusion. Two firefighters stood in the cabin, holding a hose and looking at the human and bears in surprise and confusion. There was silence for a few minutes, save for the roar of the hose water and the hiss of steam as the water landed on the flames.

"I'm O-Officer Hart. T-This is O-O-Officer Stone and H-Henry-" -cough- "-Taylor. We were here to res-cue a vic-tim of a kid-nap-ping. He's hu-rt bad and losing blood fast. He ne-eds a med-ic-al evac _immediately_," Hart answered as Henry helped him up.

One of the firemen regained his composure and nodded. "We'll escort you. Everyone thinks you guys are dead. Especially when we found that body."

The other fireman pulled out a handi-talk, aka HT, and spoke into it. "Battalion 14, this is Squad 51. We found the four people that were trapped in the fire. They're alive, but one requires an emergency evac copter."

"_Copter 14, do you copy?_" came the battalion chief's voice.

"_Copter 14, 10-4. Suggest the meadow east of the Arlnis River._"

"_10-4. Squad 51, you copy?_" the chief asked.

"10-4," the fireman answered before storing the HT in his turnout coat. He looked at the group. "I'm Roy DeSoto, a paramedic with the Shelbyville Fire Department. This is my partner, Johnny Gage. Unfortunately, we were off-duty when we were called in to help with the fire, so we have no supplies."

James swore.

"Can we get-" -cough- "-out of here please?" Hart asked.

"There's other firefighters outside, keeping the flames from the cabin," Johnny answered. "We may not have our supplies, but we can help you. But we have to go now!"

"I couldn't agree with you more," Henry muttered between coughs.

They quickly left the cabin and followed the two firemen outside. The firemen that were fighting the flames on the outside were surprised to see the group emerge from the fiery cabin.

One of the men gasped in surprise when they saw the cub in James' arms. "Isn't that that cub that was kidnapped two weeks ago?" he asked.

"Yes, and he's badly hurt," Henry answered stiffly. He just wanted to get out of there.

"Copter 14 is their emergency evac. Any ideas on how to get across the river?"

Hart's eyes widened. "How about the tree-bridge?"

"The _what_?" Roy asked in confusion.

_.~*~._

They reached the clearing in record time. Thankfully, the tree-bridge was still across the river, with the rope still stretching across the tree. The fire hadn't reached the bridge yet, a fact that they were all grateful for.

Getting the unconscious cub across the bridge was the difficult part. They ended up having to support him between James and Henry, both holding onto him with one arm each. They nearly slipped in the middle (Beary's feet actually touching the river water), but they finally made it across the river, which was higher than normal.

Pulling the stokes out of the copter, the two off-duty paramedics helped James strap the cub in, and then loaded him into the copter. Climbing on board, they looked at the group. "We can carry one of you with us now. The other two will have to wait for the next ride," the pilot yelled over the roar of the helicopter blades.

Hart and James looked at each other. Then, as one, they both said, "Henry goes."

The elder bear was grateful. Johnny helped haul him onto the copter, and then the pilot shut the door. Once everyone was buckled up, they lifted into the air.

_.~*~._

The ambulance met them at the helipad. When they had touched down, Beary barely had a pulse. Quickly transferring the cub to a gurney and loading him into the bear-sized ambulance (Henry riding up front), they raced the half-block to the Mercy Hospital, a hospital that treated both bears and humans.

As the ambulance back up to the emergency entrance, two doctors, one bear and one human, were waiting for them.

"Treatment 3," the bear doctor ordered, immediately taking control. He and the other doctor, a female, guided the gurney to the treatment room.

Henry trailed behind with Johnny. He was still coughing on the smoke he had inhaled. A bear nurse spotted them. "Can I help you?" she asked, coming over to them.

Before Henry could deny the help, Johnny spoke up. "He inhaled some smoke," he said. "Needs some O2."

The nurse sniffed the air with disdain at the smoky smell before gesturing for them to follow her into a treatment room on the opposite side of the hallway as the one that Beary was in. She had the aged bear sit on the examination table before grabbing an O2 mask and strapping it around his snout. She then set the tank at six liters of O2 and left the room.

Johnny glanced at the bear. "Well, I've got to get back to the fire. I'll check back later, okay?"

Henry was only able to nod.

"I really hope that the cub... Beary, was it?" Johnny questioned and received a nod. He continued, "I really hope that Beary's gonna be all right."

This time, Henry removed the bear-sized oxygen mask and whispered, "Me, too. Me, too," before putting it back over his snout.

As Johnny left, one of the doctors that were treating Beary, the human female, walked in, her face etched with concern and worry. She stood in front of the bear and spoke, her tone neutral. "My name is Dr. Daka. I'm one of the doctors in charge of the cub's case."

Removing the mask, Henry asked. "How's he do-ing?"

Sighing, Dr. Daka answered. "Not good, I'm afraid. We managed to remove that blasted collar from around his neck. We've kept it as evidence for the police," she said.

"Not much point. Both the kidnappers are dead."

Her eyes widened. "How?" Then she shook her head. "There's no time for that. He needs blood and surgery to remove the bullet. The bullet just barely touching the femoral artery in his left thigh. We're going to have to be extremely carefully when removing it. Anymore pressure on the artery and it'll rupture."

Henry's heart froze.

"Problem is, we don't have parental consent, so we can't perform the surgery. Another problem is that his blood type is so rare, rarer still for bears, we don't have any available. We called the blood bank, but…"

"Wh-at ty-pe is is?"

"O-."

Henry's eyes widened. "I have O-," he said. He hesitated at the next part. "A-And I'm his bio-logical father."

Daka looked at him skeptically.

"It's tr-ue."

Both bear and human turned to look at the newcomer, only to see Officer Hart and James standing in the doorway.

"Who are you?" Dr. Daka demanded.

"Poli-ce Officers Hart and Stone. We were with this-" -cough- "-bear and the cub," Hart answered, his voice sounding much better.

Dr. Daka shook her head. "I'll go get the consent forms. Once you fill them out, we'll take him up to surgery. Then I'll get you ready to donate."

Henry nodded in agreement.

The doctor walked toward the door. "You two better stay in here. All of you are just suffering from smoke inhalation. I'll send an orderly in with a couple O2 tanks."

The officers nodded and stepped inside the room. Once they were inside, Daka stepped out.

"He get here okay?" James asked as he sat down on a large stool. Hart sat on a smaller stool on the opposite side of the room.

Before Henry could answer, the door opened and in walked Daka and the orderly, who had two O2 tanks with him. Daka handed Henry the consent forms and told him how to fill it out while the orderly got the tanks set up and placed the masks over the officers' faces.

Once everything was done, the orderly left. Daka hung back for a few moments. "We'll get the blood from you here," she said to Henry. "Normally we wouldn't do this, for we usually have a large supply, but after that gang fight we had a day ago, our supply of O- is almost non-existent. We have some, but not the amount that he needs. We're a pint short. If you are indeed his father, then you're the only chance he has right now." Turning to the other two, she said, "You two can go wait out in the hallway. I'll have a nurse check you over in a few minutes."

James and Hart nodded and took the oxygen tanks with them (the tanks being on wheels).

Daka turned back to Henry. "I'll send another nurse in to get the blood. I've got to get back. We need to get him up to surgery now or he won't stand a chance."

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

James and Hart watched in silence as the gurney carrying the badly injured cub was wheeled out of Treatment 3 and to the elevator. As the gurney passed them, they could see that two IVs were hooked into the cub's arms, one in each arm. His breathing was shallow, his chest barely rising.

Glancing at the doctors' faces, they could tell that they were extremely worried. They didn't like that one bit.

Just as the elevator doors closed, blocking their view of the cub, a young feminine voice was heard.

"DAD!"

It was the only warning James had before he was attacked by a golden cub. Letting out a startled cry, muffled by the oxygen mask around his snout, he stumbled back against Hart, who then proceeded to fall to the floor, landing on his butt.

"Hey!" the human complained.

James didn't notice, however, as he hugged his daugh- '_No,_' he reminded himself. '_Niece_.'

"Jewel Destiny!" yelled the familiar voice of James' mate, Tasha, who appeared next, coming around a corner, holding Jordan in her arms. "What have I told- JAMES!" Anger forgotten, the dark-furred bear moved with the speed of a much younger bear.

James, seeing her coming, released his grip on his niece, removed the oxygen mask, throwing said mask behind him (where it promptly landed on Hart's head), and embraced his wife and son. Tears fell down his cheeks. In the fire, trapped in that cellar that was filling with smoke, he thought he would never see them again. He was briefly aware that Tasha was crying as well.

"Oh, thank the gods!" she cried, burying her snout in his shoulder fur. "Thank the gods!"

Jewel continued hugging the bear she thought was her father while Jordan just grinned, hugging his father. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but he was happy to see his father. Suddenly, he frowned and wrinkled his nose with disdain. "Daddy, you smell bad. You need to take bath."

James let out a hearty laugh.

"Don't mind me," Hart grumbled, rubbing the spot on the top of his head where the mask had landed. "I'll just get up by myself."

Nobody heard him.

Dex, still holding the black book in his arms, and his parents were the next to come around the corner. Seeing the scene before them, they smiled in relief before going over to the group. Not wanting to bother the family reunion, they went over to Hart. Dex handed the book to his father, and then gripped Hart's outstretched hand, hauling the man up. "Good to see you," he said.

"Yeah, well, it's good to be alive," the old cop muttered. "But fallin' on my butt _twice_ in one day is embarrassing."

Dex and his parents laughed.

Next to appear around the corner was none other than the Bears' themselves. Several heads turned when they arrived and excited whispers filled the waiting room. The Bears, however, didn't pay much attention to all the attention they were getting.

Tennessee and Trixie looked at their cub sadly. The other bands members looked at the two parents with mixed expressions. They felt bad for the couple. Ted actually came out of character and placed a paw on Tennessee's shoulder, trying to comfort the younger member.

Fred glanced around and, not spotting the two faces he was looking for, said what was on everyone's mind. "Where's Beary and Henry?"


	13. Chapter Twelve

.~*Chapter Twelve*~.

James and Hart visibly flinched. James pulled away from his mate, son (who had fallen asleep in his mother's arms), and niece. They both glanced at each other.

Everyone saw the fearful and concerned look that passed between them, and their hearts filled with terror.

But before anything could be said, a nurse exited the treatment room they were all standing next to, holding a plastic bag filled with crimson liquid. "Out of the way! This is needed in the O.R.!" she ordered, pushing past them, accidentally shoving Ted into a wall.

"Hey!" the singer growled angrily.

"Let it go, Ted. That blood is going to someone in need. Someone who _will_ die if he doesn't get it fast," James whispered.

Zeb was the one who figure out the meaning behind the words. Forest green eyes narrowing dangerously, he let out an angry growl. "What the heck did they do to the cub?" he demanded.

Once realization dawned on everyone, there was silence.

"Excuse me, but could you folks go wait in the lobby?"

Everyone turned to look at a timid-looking nurse with brown hair and Caucasian skin. She continued. "This is an Emergency Ward. You can't stand in the middle of the hallway, blocking our access. If you don't want to stay in the lobby, then please go to the break room. It's just down the hall and to the right."

Without too much of a fuss, everyone did so. But before they got halfway down the hall, the nurse called out.

"Not you two! The doctor is ready to see the two of you in Treatment 4. Your friend is already in there. Now, scoot!"

Sighing, the two cops trekked back to the treatment room, not seeing the amused glances being shot their way by the others.

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

It was almost half an hour before Hart and James appeared without the masks. They were supporting Henry between them, who was weakened by both the smoke inhalation and donating blood. He had refused a wheelchair, saying that he was going to be sitting anyway and to just save it for someone who truly needed it.

Ted and Zeb, who had been sitting on the couch, got off, letting James and Hart lead the older bear to the couch. Henry sat down heavily and sighed. "Being in a forest fire isn't something I'd recom-mend for the elderly," he muttered, much to the amusement of the other occupants in the room.

"Wha' happen'd to ya, Hen?" Fred asked, standing against a wall next to Roadie.

"He donated the blood they needed," Hart answered softly as he sat down in a nearby chair. "That, plus the smoke that was inhaled."

Tasha's eyes widened. "They let you donate blood even though you still needed treatment?" she exclaimed. "But that's dangerous! The blood will have to be cleansed and-"

"They had no choice. Beary's blood type was so rare… especially for bears. And you all know that bears can only receive blood from fellow bears. Same with humans."

"What type is it?" Tasha asked, curious.

"O-."

Her blue eyes widened. "But that type can _only_ receive blood from another of the same type! No other type! And there's only a 7% chance of finding a compatible donor for humans. Even less for us bears!" she exclaimed. "You mean-"

Henry nodded. "I used to think it was curse, but now I see that it was a gift."

Zeb's eyes were still narrow. "What did they _do_ to the cub?" he questioned again, his voice low and menacing.

With closed eyes, the band manager whispered, "They shot him."

Dead silence met his words. So it was no surprise when everyone jumped a foot in the air when a loud _thud_ was heard.

Turning, they saw that Dex had dropped the black book he had been holding. It now lay open at his feet. The teen's brown eyes were wide and filled with horror. "S-Say t-that a-again," he whispered slowly.

Hart looked over at the aged bear and saw the pained expression in his hazel green eyes. He knew that the bear didn't want to repeat it. So _Hart_ repeated it for him. "They shot him."

That's when Dex lost his temper. Full of rage, he turned on the spot and punched the closest thing to him, which happened to be a wall. A loud _crack_ was heard, and it _wasn't_ from the wall. Dex immediately let out a pained yell. "OWWWWW!"

Tasha moved fast. Transferring the sleeping Jordan to her sitting husband, she shoved several of the band members out of the way in order to reach the teen, just barely missing the black book that was on the floor in front of Dex (Norbert making a quick dive for it). Gently taking a hold of the teen's hand, she carefully examined it. Immediately, she noticed the awkward positioning of the fingers. Tsking, she spoke. "It looks like you broke your fingers, Dex. You'll be lucky if you didn't break your entire hand." She glanced between the hand, which was quickly turning black and blue, and the wall and let out a whistle of appreciation at the sight of the wide hole. "Nice punch, though."

"Gee, thanks," Dex hissed between clenched teeth. The others mildly chuckled.

"Wouldn't recommend doing it again, though."

"No… really?"

"Come on, we'd better go get this x-rayed."

As she led the teen out of the room, everyone moved out of the way, not wanting to be shoved out of the way again. Once they were gone, the others looked back at the two cops and elder bear.

"They **_shot_** him?" Ted demanded, his amber eyes narrowed dangerously. "Where?"

"In the leg. Upper left thigh. I'd say when he was escapin'," Hart answered.

"He escaped? On his own?" Ted questioned, surprised.

"Have a lil' faith in him, Ted," Fred said.

"Well said, big guy!" Zeb complimented, ignoring Ted's glare.

"What else happened? How did he escape?" Trixie asked.

"Well, James and Henry were the ones who found the cub, actually. I was lookin' around the cabin, tryin' to find the kidnappers." Hart's eyes narrowed. "I succeeded. With one, at least."

Immediately after saying that, he was bombarded by questions and angry statements.

"Who is it?"

"Where is he?"

"When I get my paws on that bas-"

"Tennessee!"

"Sorry."

"Let me at 'em!"

"I'm gonna kill that-"

Hart stopped the bombardment there. "You're all too late. It was Thimple… and he was already dead."

Everyone froze.

Hart continued. "Upon further examination, I found that a large dent was on the side of his head. I checked for a pulse and didn't find one. His skin was still a little warm, so I can only deduct that he died only a few minutes before."

"Did Adam-" Zeb began.

This time, Henry spoke. "Adam was nowhere near the cabin at the time."

"But that could only mean-" Trixie broke off with a sob.

Hart nodded sadly. "Yes, I'm afraid. Beary killed Reed Thimple."

There was silence before the shouting began.

"That's not possible!"

"Beary wouldn't hurt a fly!"

While everyone (sans Henry, James, and Hart) shouted out denials, the Barringtons stood against the back wall with wide eyes. They hadn't spoken the entire time they had been in the break room. At first it had been because they were worried, but now…

They didn't know what to think.

Their adopted son was a killer at the age of eleven.

"It was self defense," Jewel whispered. "It had to be. Beary… Beary wouldn't…" Eyes filled with tears, she hugged the closest adult to her.

Tennessee was surprised when two small arms wrapped around his mid-section. Looking down he was even more surprised to see that it was Jewel. His _daughter_ was _hugging _him. Wrapping his arms around the cub, he looked at James, who smiled softly and nodded his encouragement. A tear fell from the singer's light brown eyes as he hugged his daughter, even if she didn't know that it was her _real _father that was hugging her.

A tear slipped down Trixie's golden cheek as she watched the scene next to her. How long had she dreamed of this moment? To see her boyfriend and their cub hugging? Even if one of them didn't know the truth?

The others, meanwhile, were still shouting out denials. They hadn't noticed the touching family moment.

Hart waved his hand. "All of you calm down! Have you forgotten that we are in a hospital?" he hissed.

This quieted everyone.

"Well, then what happened to Adam?" Norbert questioned, speaking for the first time.

"He burned to death in front of our very eyes," Henry answered darkly. "It was his plan to take _all_ of us with him to _Infernos_."

All eyes turned to look at the bear in shock and horror. Even Jewel stopped her crying and looked at the band manager in surprise.

The aged bear sighed. "I think now's the time I told you everything. It'll help pass the time, at least."

Everyone immediately got comfortable and waited for the bear to begin his tale. Zeb grabbed a coffee.

Henry gathered his thoughts for a few minutes before beginning. "Adam and I used to be the best of friends. We had just graduated from high school…"


	14. Chapter Thirteen

.~*Chapter Thirteen*~.

**Flashback**

_"Hey, Henry! Ol' buddy!"_

_A much younger Henry Dixon Taylor turned to look at his best friend, and fellow graduate, Adam Jackson. Adam was wearing what they all were: A blue graduation robe and hat. In his right paw was a roll of paper tied with a ribbon. "Hey, Adam! So, what are your plans?" the brown bear asked._

_"Well, me and my girl are gonna go cruisin'. How about you?" the thick, black-furred, brown-eyed bear answered._

_"Don't know yet. Gonna go fix up that place my Grandpa left me in his will."_

_Adam studied him curiously. "Why are you gonna bother fixin' up **that** place? You should just have it torn down!"_

_"I can't do that! Grandpa loved that place! I promised him I would take care of it!"_

_"You made a promise to a dead guy. He's _gone_, Hen. Live with it and tear the place down."_

_"I can't. I love the Hall as well. I still remember the concerts that Grandpa hosted there on weekends," Henry said with a distant look in his hazel green eyes. "I wanna turn it back into a concert hall."_

_Adam just laughed. "Good luck with that, buddy. Who knows, I may just come and visit you out there." He smiled. "Now I'm gonna pop the question to Julie tonight."_

_Henry slapped his friend on the back. "Congratulations, bud! But, isn't it a bit soon to be thinkin' about marriage?" he questioned._

_"Well, I'm not goin' to college. And I ain't gonna let Julie go to one, either. Nobody's gonna steal her away from me," he growled, his brown eyes flashing with anger. "I'll make sure of that."_

_Henry was appalled. "Isn't that Julie's decision?" he asked. He knew that Julie had big plans for her future. He had talked the black-furred beauty only a few days ago. She had told him that she wanted to be a nurse. She had also told him that she was worried about what Adam would say about it, for she had yet to tell him._

_"She'll never amount to anythin', anyway. College is for losers." Adam's brown eyes narrowed. "Why do you care so much, anyway? Has she said anythin' to you?" he demanded, rising to his full height of 6' 5"._

_Henry had never seen his friend so mad before. He'd also never heard him say anything like that about Julie. "Adam, what the hell is your problem? Calm down!"_

_Adam didn't listen to him. Instead, he stormed away._

.~*~.

_The next time Henry saw his friend, it was at Adam's and Julie's wedding a few months later. He was surprised that he had even been invited, let alone be Adam's Best Man._

_Walking up to the couple after the wedding, he couldn't help but notice that Julie looked bigger round the middle. "Congratulations, you two! I hope you have many happy years together," he said, taking Julie's dark paw in his light one._

_Julie nodded and glanced at her mate, a look of fear in her amber eyes. She looked back at Henry. "Henry, there's someone I want you to meet."_

_Adam glared at her before grabbing a bottle of honey at the drinks table. "Don't be gone long," he growled before downing the sticky liquid._

_Julie took Henry's paw and led him away from hearing distance of Adam. "I need to talk to you," she whispered._

_"You know you can tell me anything, Julie," Henry replied, looking at her cousin._

**Flashback Interrupted**

Zeb spit out his coffee, covering Ted in the brown liquid. "She was your _cousin_?" he exclaimed, not seeing Ted's angry glare. Nor did he hear the muffled chuckles he was receiving from the others.

Fred handed his brother a towel.

"Yes," Henry sighed. "Julie was my cousin. We were as close as two cousins could be." He chuckled sadly. "You guys would've loved her."

"Please go on, Henry," Allison whispered. She was desperate for the knowledge as to why someone so cruel would go after her adopted son. He hadn't done anything wrong in his life!

Henry nodded and went on.

**Flashback Resumed**

_"Hen, I… I didn't want to marry Adam," the black bear said softly, her amber eyes brimming with tears. "Daddy… Daddy made me…"_

_Henry's eyes widened. He couldn't understand why Uncle Jerry would do something like that. He loved his daughter very much. "Why?" he asked._

_Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Adam… Adam… He… He raped me… When I told him I didn't want to marry him…" she sobbed._

_Henry was stunned. Adam wouldn't do that! Would he?_

_"He kept hittin' me! I… I couldn't stop him! He said that if I got pregnant, I would have to marry him!"_

_Rage boiled within the usually calm bear. "I'm going to kill him!" he growled, turning to go back to where he had last seen his "friend"._

_A paw on his arm stopped him. He looked back at his cousin, whose eyes were wide and pleading. "Henry, don't! He can't ever know that I told you!"_

_"What about Uncle Jerry? Does he know what that bastard did to you?"_

_"Adam convinced him into believin' that I consented to it. Daddy made me marry him!"_

_Henry drew her into his arms, letting her cry on his shoulder. He knew that all her future plans had been destroyed by Adam. She wouldn't be able to college now. Not with a cub on the way. "How far along are you?" he asked quietly._

_"F-Four months…" she whispered. "I'm scared, Hen."_

_"You have every right to be, Jules. You have every right to be," Henry whispered back, patting her on the back, somehow knowing that this marriage wasn't going to last long._

_They stayed that way for almost ten minutes before Julie sighed and wiped her eyes. "**He's** goin' to be lookin' for us…" Her eyes suddenly widened. "I still have to introduce you to Helen!" Immediately, she broke away from her cousin._

_"Who?" Henry questioned as the black bear dragged him along behind her. "Julie!"_

_They moved through the crowd until Julie suddenly stopped. "Helen! Helen, come here!" she called._

_Henry looked around, trying to spot this mysterious "Helen". He didn't expect to see a light brown-furred bear with the most beautiful forest green eyes he had ever seen. She wore a long orange robe, lined with a red, feathery hem. The design on the robe was of suns amongst clouds. The sleeves were long and stopped between the elbow and wrist._

_She walked over to them and held out her paw. "You must be Henry Taylor. Julie's told me a lot about you. My name is Helen Hathworth."_

_It was that day that Henry Dixon Taylor fell in love._

**Flashback Interrupted**

"So Julie introduced you to Helen?" Trixie asked, surprised.

Henry nodded. He then gasped and reached into his vest pockets and produced five picture frames the size of his paw. "I grabbed these from the cabin. I know they're a bit dusty, but this is the first time I've been back there in eight years."

Fred's eyes widened, as did several others. "Ya mean-" the dark-furred harmonica player asked.

"Yeah. Last time I saw Helen and the cub was three days before Helen's murder."

Allison broke the silence that followed Henry's announcement. "Is… Is this… _Beary_?" she asked, holding the one picture with no frame.

Henry nodded. "That was taken a week after Helen moved to the cabin. Just a few weeks after Beary's birth, actually."

"But he's so small!" Trixie exclaimed, looking over Allison's shoulder.

"Actually, he was nearly a month late. He nearly died when he was born," James piped up.

All eyes turned to look at James in surprise.

"Tasha's the one who delivered him, all right? If she hadn't been there, neither him nor Helen would have survived." The black bear then looked at the confused golden cub. "You were only three-months-old, Jewel. You wouldn't remember."

'_Actually, I think I do,_' the she-cub thought in surprise. She didn't voice her thoughts, though.

Henry cleared his throat. "May I go on?"

The others nodded.

**Flashback Resumed**

_The next time Henry saw his cousin was at his **own** wedding, nearly a year later._

_"Hello, Henry."_

_Henry jumped a foot in the air and turned towards the source of the voice he had not heard in almost a year. "Julie!" he exclaimed, immediately hugging her. She wore a long, dark green robe. In contrast to her usual outfit, this had no feathers or design. It was very plain, and very unlike her._

_Next to him, his bride, Helen, who wore a long, white robe with blue snowflakes dancing across it, turned away from talking to her older brother, Al, and hugged her friend. "Where have you been, Jules?" she asked._

_"Talk to you later, lil' sis," Al said before disappearing into the crowd._

_"Mama?" It was then that a small, black cub with cerulean blue eyes appeared behind the female. He was wearing a tuxedo that made him look rather dashing. Grabbing his mother's robe, he looked at Helen and Henry with wide eyes. "Mama? Who dat?"_

_"Who's this?" Henry asked while Helen "awed" at the cub._

_Julie bent over and picked up the cub. "This is Chris, my son." She looked at Henry, who nodded in understanding. She then looked back at her son. "Chris, this is Henry and Helen."_

_The cub looked at the two new bears curiously for a moment before hiding his face against his mother's shoulder._

_Henry chuckled before looking around. "Where's Adam?" he questioned, his tone hostile._

_"He couldn't make it," she answered softly, which was the signal to drop it._

_Henry, however, ignored the signal. "Jules, if he does **anything** to you and Chris, come to the Hall." He looked her straight in the eyes. "Promise me."_

_"I promise…"_

**Flashback Paused**

"I didn't see her or Chris for another two years," the aged bear said sadly. "When I saw them again…" He broke off with a sigh.

James suddenly filled the silence that was within the room. He was still holding the sleeping Jordan in one arm, but was holding a picture frame in the other paw. His eyes were wide. "W-What did you say Julie's surname was?" he asked.

Henry looked at him in confusion. "I didn't… But her father was my father's brother, so she shared the same surname as me… Julie Elizabeth Taylor. Until Adam married her, that is. Then she became Julie Elizabeth Taylor Jackson." He paused. "Why?"

James didn't hear him. "And this is a picture of her, yes?" he demanded, holding out the picture. The image was of four bears: three adults and one squirming cub.

Henry nodded. "Yes. That's me, Helen, Julie, and Chris. It was taken at my wedding. Why?" he asked again.

James looked back at the picture again, his eyes filled with horror and pain. "Julie… Julie is… _was_… my sister…" he whispered.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

.~*Chapter Fourteen*~.

Henry's eyes widened. Everyone's eyes widened, for that matter. Zeb dropped his coffee cup, the cup shattering at his feet. Jewel was unable to say anything.

"S-Say that again," Henry whispered.

"Julie was my half-sister…" James replied. "Her mother was my mother. Our… father's were different, though."

"I knew that Aunt Vicky had divorced Uncle Jerry, but I didn't know she had another cub!" Henry exclaimed.

"Um… What are you guys talking about?"

Every turned to see Tasha and Dex, now sporting a cast around his right hand that ended just below his elbow, standing in the doorway, both with confused looks on their faces. Well, Dex had a bit of a goofy look on his face, most likely caused by the pain meds.

"Dex!" Allison cried, rushing over to her son, Norbert not being far behind, and hugging him.

"Mom!" Dex exclaimed, his face flushed with embarrassment. "I'm not a child!" He tried pushing her hands away as she examined him, but finally gave up.

"You will always be my baby. Now, honey, are you all right?"

"I'm fine!" His face was now a deep crimson as he looked at the floor.

"Uh-huh. Right. That's why you are currently in a cast," Tasha chastised, fixing her icy stare on the teen, who winced. She looked at the assembled group. "He has three broken fingers and fractured his pinky. Oh, and he broke his wrist." She chuckled. "The doctor said he must have one heck of a punch."

This got a few chuckles out of everyone.

"He's just damn lucky I got him in right away." Tasha then looked at the teen. "With a punch like that, how did you _not_ break that Josh kid's jaw?"

"I meant too…" Dex muttered, winking at a giggling Jewel. It was obvious that she remembered the fight well. Looking back at the others, Dex said in a dangerous tone, "**_Nobody_** trash-talks my little brother and gets away with it." He sighed. "I may have been an ass to him before, but he's still my baby brother and always will be. Even if he's covered in fur. And sheds. And talks about the _Country Bears_ all the time. And at times, brings fleas in." The last sentence had a big grin crossing his face, letting them know he was kidding.

This brought smiles to everyone's faces. They all wondered if Beary knew how much his brother, albeit adopted, cared about him. Thinking about the cub that was fighting for his life in the O.R. sobered everyone. There had been no word from the doctors as of late. The waiting was driving everyone crazy. But at least they had each other to share stories.

Jewel smiled. "I remember the time that Beary and I started a food fight in the cafeteria. Got everyone involved. Even the principle. Well, until lunch was over. Then, we had to clean the place up afterwards and had detention for about a week. But it was so worth it," she giggled.

"A… food fight? Pshaw, that's nothing. How about scaring Mom and Dad on our snowboards? I think he got about… what was it? Twenty feet in the air?" Dex grinned.

"Yes, and we grounded you both for the night after that," Allison growled while Norbert laughed.

"Hey, I thought it was totally rad," the father grinned.

Dex raised an eyebrow at him. "Stop trying to keep up with us totally hip kids, dawg," he joked.

"I can get on with that swag, can't I?"

"Uh… no. Just, don't, Dad."

The others laughed and began sharing stories as well of their favorite bear cub.

"_Code Red, O.R. 2. Repeat, Code Red, O.R. 2._"

Tasha's eyes widened. She knew what _that_ meant. '_Please don't let that be Beary. **Please** don't let that be Beary…_' she silently prayed, her eyes closed. When she opened them again, she saw that everyone was looking at her. She must have said it out loud. "What?"

"What does "Code Red" mean?" Tennessee asked, fearing the answer.

Tasha sighed. "Code Red means Trauma."

"_Trauma_? What kind of trauma?" Norbert asked, gripping Allison's arm.

"It could be a variety of things: From collapsing to extreme blood loss." She sighed. "The thing is, it could be anyone in O.R. 2. We don't even know if Beary is even in there."

"So, the only thing we can do is wait?" Zeb asked softly, finally bending over and picking up the broken coffee cup. Ted passed him the very towel the lead singer had used to wipe his own face after Zeb had spit coffee on him.

Tasha nodded and the room fell into silence. Jewel leaned against Tennessee, who was gently rubbing her shoulder. She still seemed unaware who she was leaning against.

"Can someone fill us in on what happened since we've been gone?" Dex asked after a few minutes, startling them all. He had moved over to where his parents had been standing, Allison and Norbert following, and now stood between them. Allison's right hand was on the teen's left shoulder, while Norbert's left hand was on the teen's right shoulder.

"Yeah, and finish the story, Henry," Ted said.

"Very well," the aged bear replied, closing his eyes.

Whilst he was gathering his thoughts, the others filled in Dex and Tasha, purposely leaving out the part about Thimple's death and Beary's part in it. They didn't want Dex to break his other hand.

"Okay, now that we're all up to speed, can you continue?" Tasha asked, still shocked at the fact that her mate's older half-sister was Adam's mate.

"I want to know why my sister died," James whispered as Tasha came over to him and placed a paw on his shoulder.

Henry nodded. "Trust me, you are going to hate it… and me…" He sighed. "This was a few years before I met you guys," he said to the _Bears_.

**Flashback Resumed**

_It was raining that afternoon. The sky was dark, almost black in color. Thunder rumbled overhead and lightning flashed against the dark sky. Rain and wind buffeted the windows of the still-in-repair _Pendleton MusicHall_. They had been here for almost two years, and were making little progress. They refused to get help, wanting it to be their own little project._

_"It's going to get worse before it gets better," Helen predicted as she placed another pot under yet another leak in the ceiling. "Good thing Albert's gonna be moving out here next week. You're hopeless when it comes to fixing roofs," she smirked. Her outfit that evening consisted of a pair of bellbottoms and a loose shirt. Henry, however, wore a simple red, velvet vest with a gold necktie._

_"I resent that," Henry muttered playfully, mock-glaring at his mate as he emptied a full pot by throwing the water out the window._

_Candy Corn and Hallows Eve, their two breeding cats, mewed and simply watched while taking care of their latest litter of kittens. Both cats looked like Halloween kitties. Candy Corn had an black face, paws, tail tip, and ears with an orange body. Hallows Eve had a black body with a single orange paw. Both had amber eyes._

_"Admit it, Hen. You are good at mechanics and music. However, you **suck** when it comes to home repairs." She batted her forest-green eyes playfully._

_Henry chuckled. "All right, all right. I admit it."_

_"Good. Glad you finally agree." She turned away to place another pot._

_Henry's eyes sparkled with amusement. He began to hum the theme for _Adam 12_._

_"You continue humming that and I **will** strangle you," Helen growled, not looking at him. She wasn't in the mood to listen. _

_Henry immediately shut up._

_A loud pounding at the door startled them both._

_"Who could that be? Al's not coming until next week," Helen commented as Henry moved towards the door. "Who would be foolish enough to venture out in this storm?"_

_Opening the door, Henry was in for the shock of his life. "Julie! What are you- What happened?" he demanded, immediately ushering the black bear into the room._

_Julie was missing patches of fur, her clothes were torn, and blood dribbled down from a cut on her head. In her arms was the three-year-old Chris, looking just as bad as his mother. Both were crying._

_"Holy sh- Julie!" Helen exclaimed, immediately rushing over to her mate and friend. "What the hell happened?" She attempted to take Chris from Julie, only to have the cub scream and hid his bruised face in his mother's chest._

_"Jules, what-" Henry began again, trying to get an answer out of his cousin._

_"He… was… drunk…" she gasped. "Kept… hit… ting…" Her amber eyes rolled back and she began to collapse._

_Henry and Helen moved quickly. Helen grabbed the screaming Chris while Henry caught Julie before she could hit her head on the table. He was amazed at how light she was. Gently, he dragged her towards the couch and lay her upon it._

_"Julie," he said, gently shaking her. "Julie!" When she still didn't respond, he looked at his mate helplessly. "She won't wake!" he stated._

_"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Helen deadpanned. "Like I couldn't tell!" She gently sat Chris on one of the chairs. The cub was still crying and struggling to get to his mother. "Now stay here, Chris! Your mother is very ill and we're going to take care of her and you, all right?" she said rather harshly. "But you have to stay right here!"_

_The cub continued to cry softly, but did as he was told._

_Satisfied, Helen went over to the sink and ran two washcloths under it. She looked at her mate. "I'll clean up Julie. You take care of Chris," she said, handing him one of the wet cloths._

_Henry took the cloth and moved towards the cub, who flinched when he came near. "Hey, there, Chris," he said gently. "My name is Henry. I'm your mom's cousin."_

_"H-Henwy?" the cub hiccupped. His eyes filled with hope. "Mama talks lots about yaw." Suddenly, his eyes took on a wary look. "Yaw fwiend of Daddy?"_

_Henry shook his head. "Not any longer. Haven't been his friend since… Well, for a while now."_

_"Good. They meani-heads."_

_Henry laughed. "I bet they are," he agreed._

_Chris looked at his bed-ridden mother. "Daddy huwt Mama… He hit hew…" he whispered. He looked back up at Henry with sad, cerulean blue eyes. The eyes that shouldn't belong to a three-year-old. "Why he hit hew?"_

_Henry thought for a moment as he gently began wiping the blood off the cub's face. "I don't know, Chris. I just don't know." He looked the cub in the eyes. "Did he hit you, Chris?"_

_Chris looked down before nodding. "Zat why Mama badly huwt…"_

_Rekindled rage rose within the older bear. _'Adam, what has **_happened_** to you?_' he wondered as he glanced over at his mate, who was gently wiping blood off of Julie's face. She looked up at him, and he saw the same smoldering rage in her forest green eyes as were in his own hazel green ones._

_Just as suddenly as she had collapsed, the black-furred mother awoke with a strangled cry, scaring the heck out of Helen. "Adam! Stop!"_

_Chris started his crying all over again as Henry rushed to his cousin's side. "Julie! Jules, calm down! It's me, Henry! Adam's not here!" he yelled, trying to calm down the terrified bear. He and Helen had the hold down the struggling female so she wouldn't hurt herself more than she already was._

_After about a minute, Julie had calmed down enough to be released. "H-Henry?" she whispered cautiously, blinking. "Am I seeing things?" Slowly, she sat up and looked around. "Where am I?"_

_Helen and Henry shared a glanced before Henry answered, "I'm here, Jules. So are Helen and Chris. You're at the _Hall_."_

_Julie's eyes widened and she looked around frantically. "Chris? Where is he?"_

_The little black cub climbed off of his chair and ran over to his mother. "Mama! You all wight!" he cried as she scooped him up in her arms._

_Julie hugged her son tightly against her chest. "Oh, baby," she whispered._

_There was another loud pounding at the door. Julie's eyes widened. "Hush, Chris!" she whispered urgently to her son._

_"HENRY!" Adam's gruff voice yelled angrily. "I know they're here! Open the damn door! HENRY!"_

_Helen and Henry shared glances at each other, silently passing along a message between them. Helen nodded and she helped the terrified Julie stand. "Come on," she whispered. "To the bedrooms. Henry can handle it."_

_Julie glanced back at her cousin, her expression mixed._

_"I'll be fine, Jules. Go," he mouthed._

_She nodded and followed Helen._

_Once she was out of sight, Henry went into the office and over to the door, where Adam was still yelling, and this time adding in profanities. Opening the door, he was forced back by the tall, angry, black bear who smelled strongly of Honey Ale, honey that was mixed with human's alcohol._

_"Adam, what do you want?" Henry growled, trying to block him from coming any further into the home. "Don't you **dare** come into my home, drunk as a lunatic!"_

_"Where are they, Hen? Where's my mate and cub?" the drunk bear bellowed as he pushed against the brown bear. "Where are you hidin' them?"_

_"They aren't here, Adam!" Henry yelled back._

_"What is going on here?" Helen demanded as she came back in._

_Adam took one look at her and said something that sent Henry over the edge. "What the hell do you want, Hellwhore?"_

_That's when Henry slugged him, his clenched paw connecting with the black bear's jaw. Adam fell to the ground, his brown eyes filled with rage and surprise. "Don't you **dare** talk to Helen like that!" he hissed through clenched teeth. His hazel eyes were a burning anger that knew no bounds._

_"Henry!" Helen exclaimed, shocked that the normally gentle bear would do something so violent. Then again, he had gone to war. Her forest green eyes suddenly widened. "**HENRY!**" she screamed._

_Henry didn't need the warning. His eyes were fixed on the hand gun in Adam's paw that was being aimed at him. Holding his paws at the same height as his shoulders, Henry backed away. "Adam, put the gun down," he said slowly. He moved towards Helen, becoming a shield. Helen placed her paws on his shoulders, terrified._

_"No, Henry. I know you're lyin'," the black bear growled, getting up. "Where are they?" With his other paw, he grabbed a chair and threw it at the couple._

_Henry took most of it and stumbled back, holding his chest, the wind knocked out of him. _'Damn, that hurt!_' he mentally growled, doing his best to stay upright and in front of his terrified mate._

_Helen growled darkly. "Adam! Stop this! Grow up! You don't deserve her if you're going to hurt her like that, you doofus!"_

_"Adam," a soft voice said, drawing everyone's attention towards the back of the room. Julie stood in the bedroom doorway, Chris in her arms, crying. "Adam, stop. We're here."_

_"Julie!" Henry exclaimed. "What are you doing?"_

_"It's all right, Hen… I'm not going to let you and Helen get hurt because of me."_

_"Smart girl," Adam chuckled. "Get your ass over here."_

_Julie slowly moved towards her mate, clutching Chris tightly. "We didn't mean to get you into trouble, Hen," she whispered as she passed by her cousin._

_When she passed Adam, he growled, "Get your ass out to the car. You're in need of a lesson." As Julie reached the front door, Adam made to follow her._

_"Adam, I'm calling the cops," Henry growled, still in front of Helen, who was inching towards the phone. "You're not going to get away with this!"_

_The black bear paused and looked back at his former friend. "Oh, you won't be callin' just the cops, Henry. You'll be callin' the paramedics. If you live long enough, that is."_

_"What are you-"_

_"You lied." With that, Adam raised the gun._

_The sound was deafening. The only other sound Henry heard over it was Helen and Julie's horrified screams, Chris's crying, and the sound of screeching tires…_

_He felt himself falling, only to be caught in a pair of arms. "Oh, God! Henry! Henry, stay with me!"_

_It was the last voice he heard before he succumbed to comforting darkness…_

**End Flashback**

Henry had tears slowly tracking down his face, matting the fur in streaks as he finished his tale.

The silence in the room was deafening. Everyone's eyes were as wide as they could possibly be.

"H-He _shot_ you?" Tennessee exclaimed.

The aged bear could only nod.

"W-What happened to Julie and Chris?" Dex asked. "I mean, I know they died, but how?"

"When I woke, I found myself in the hospital. I didn't learn until later that I had been out of it for three days. During which time I had surgery to remove the bullet from my shoulder. I still have a little trouble with my left shoulder." He sighed.

"Helen told me what happened. The car Adam, Julie, and Chris were in hit a semi head on. Julie and Chris were thrown through the windshield. She died instantly. Chris lasted a few hours, but died in a coma." He drew in a shuddering breath. "Adam, obviously, survived with two broken legs, a fractured collarbone, and a broken arm. After many surgeries, he was sent to jail for D.U.I. and attempted murder." His eyes darkened. "They didn't charge him for the murders of Julie or Chris."

Ted was the first to lose his temper. "Why the hell not?" he growled angrily, slamming a clenched on a counter.

James and Hart both knew the answer to the question, but neither wanted to say it aloud.

"They couldn't prove that Adam meant to kill them. All anyone knew was that they died in a car accident," Henry whispered, the tears still falling from his eyes. "Adam went to jail for fifteen years. He was released in '91. That's when the threats started coming in the mail, just after you guys broke up." He closed his eyes. "We thought we could handle it ourselves, so we didn't involve the police. You have no idea how much I regret that…" he trailed off.

Everyone in the room could feel the strong emotions that were radiating off of the elder bear. Guilt, regret, sorrow, and anger were all rolled into one.

Hart reached over and placed a hand on the bear's shoulder.

With a sigh, Henry went on. "I told Helen to go into hiding. She didn't want to, so we argued over it. In the end, Al agreed with me and Helen left, taking the unborn cub with her. I met up with her about two weeks later, Al with me, at the cabin in the Salza Forest. The cabin had belonged to my other grandparents, who left it to me when they died. Needless to say, we took advantage of it." He chuckled. "In fact, Al's the one who took that picture," he said, pointing at the picture without a frame.

Fred's eyes widened. "Al? Wait… Ya mean _Big Al_?"

Henry nodded. "Didn't you know? Big Al was Helen's older brother."

"They look nothin' alike!" Zeb commented.

"Well, he was adopted."

"Oh."

"Wait, then what about Roadie?" Tennessee questioned, looking at the drummer.

"I was out visiting family," the long-haired man replied. "I came back soon after that. I also helped Henry and got to see the cub." He chuckled. "He liked to pull my hair."

The others chuckled at the drummer's expense.

"Anyway, I went and visited Helen and the cub as often as I could without Adam finding out. I had a feeling he was following me, so I could only go a few times. But those few times are as precious as gold. To try and throw _him_ off the trail, I made a false missing-person report to the police." The pepper-furred bear's hazel green eyes narrowed. "Then **_he_** found them. I don't know how he did it, but he found them."

Then Hart cut in. "From what Lt. Themm told me after the initial investigation, when Jackson killed Helen, he had been huntin' her and the cub. He shot her from behind, and she tumbled down the hill into the river, Beary still in her arms. But somehow, with a bullet in her back and a cub in her arms, she managed to fight the strong current and get to the river bank." He sighed. "From there, we don't know what happened except that the cub got away. The only one who would be able to tell us what happened further would've had to have been there."

"Speaking of Beary, how was he when you guys found him?" Tasha asked softly.

Henry and James shared a glance. James began to speak. "We were at least a hundred feet away from the cabin, following a trail of blood. That's when we found him, falling into unconsciousness and slumped up against a tree trunk. We could tell immediately he was underweight, the clothes he was wearing were so loose… Then we saw…" he broke off, unsure of how to tell them this little bit of information.

"A collar. They had put a collar and a chain around his neck," Henry growled. "And by the looks of the rubbed-raw skin on his snout, they muzzled him, too."

Norbert and Roadie, who was nearby, immediately gripped Dex's arms so that he would not injure himself further. The teen attempted to struggle against them, but eventually gave up. Allison's eyes swam with fresh tears, but she didn't move from her spot.

"Holy-" Zeb began, but broke off when the door opened.

Everyone turned to see a female doctor wearing green surgeon clothes walk through the door. She pulled off a green cap, revealing platinum blond hair styled in a bun beneath it. The underarms of the shirt, as well as the sides, were dark and wet from sweat.

Henry recognized her immediately. "Dr. Daka! How is he?" he asked, attempting to stand.

"Sit back down, Mr. Taylor. I'll tell you everything I know in a moment," the doctor said.

The others were confused for a moment before realization dawned on them. Immediately, they all moved towards the doctor, asking questions.

"Woah!" Dr. Daka exclaimed, holding up her hands. "Let a girl get a cup of coffee first!" They cleared a path for her to the coffee machine. As she walked towards it, she could feel everyone's eyes on her. "Continue staring at me, and I'll tell you nothin' until I finish my drink," she threatened as she grabbed a cup and filled it with the brown liquid.

Even though they all knew she wouldn't do that, they diverted their eyes.

Turning around, she leaned against the counter, took a sip of coffee, and sighed, looking around. That's when she spotted the hole in the wall. "What the—You know what? Never mind. I'm sure I don't want to know." She looked at everyone. "Well, I have some good news… and I have some bad news. I think it would be best to tell you the good news first, though."

Everyone's heart quickened. "Go on," Allison quietly pleaded.

"Well, first off, he is one _hell_ of a fighter. Not too many people, especially children and cubs, would've survived the trip here with an injury like that. Or with having such a high temperature. He came in with a temperature of a 104.5." She looked at Henry. "Is the cub that one that was kidnapped two weeks ago?"

Henry nodded.

"That explains some of his symptoms," Daka muttered, looking down. She looked back up after a moment, her expression grave. "Well, like I said, he's one hell of a fighter. If he wasn't, we would've lost him on the operating table."

The other occupants in the room fell into a stunned silence at the female doctor's announcement. The silence was only broken when Tasha softly asked, "The Code Red, correct?"

Daka nodded. "The femoral artery was nicked when we were removing the bullet. Frankly, I'm astonished that it wasn't nicked beforehand. The bullet was positioned where it could've easily severed the artery. The cub has to have a guardian angel watching over him." She frowned and went on. "We had a little trouble stopping the bleeding. We were this close-" -she held up her hand, her pointer finger and thumb just a millimeter apart- "-from changing the Code Red to a Code Blue."

"Heart failure," Tasha said, explaining the term for the others.

"But once we got the bleeding in his leg under control we discovered another bleed when we took his BP again. Not in his leg, though."

"Where?" Zeb asked.

"In his spleen. We're not entirely sure how it happened, but there was a small laceration on his spleen. He's been bleeding internally for at least two days. Possibly more. It was a slow bleed. Thankfully, we managed to save the spleen." She looked directly at the cub's rescuers. "If you hadn't brought him in when you did, he would've been dead within the hour."

Fresh tears fell from Jewel's uniquely colored eyes. She leaned against Tennessee unknowingly, who gently rubbed her shoulder. She didn't see Trixie, her idol, come up behind her, but she did feel another paw on her shoulder. "He's all right now, though… right?" she she-cub asked.

Daka shook her head sadly. "Here's the bad news." She noticed that they all flinched at that. "He **_is_** alive, but due to blood loss, severe malnutrition, exhaustion, _extreme _illness, and shock, he's slipped into a coma."

There was another symptom she wanted to add, but without further analysis, she wouldn't be able to form the correct conclusion. She had a feeling that some kind of poison was used on the cub, but couldn't be sure. Not until the tests came back.

"There's also some kind of first degree burn—bordering on second degree—on the front of his neck. We know his vocal cords have been damaged, but we don't know how badly. How much he can use his voice, we won't know until he wakes. Even then..." She broke off.

"What?" Ted demanded.

"He may never talk again. But, like I said, it all depends."

Each person in the room winced.

Dex's heart quickened; everyone's did. "When will he wake?" the teen asked, when what he actually wanted to say was _Will he wake?_

She hesitated slightly. "We don't know. It could hours, days, weeks, months, years…" She softly sighed. "Or never."

That very moment everyone's hearts shattered.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

.~*Chapter Fifteen*~.

**The Nashville Tribune**

_Friday June 13, 2003_

**FOUND!**

Kidnapped Bear Cub is Found After Two Weeks

_After being kidnapped while walking home from a friend's house two weeks ago, eleven-year-old Beary Barrington of the _Country Bears_ has been found at last, much to the relief of family and friends._

_In a surprising discovery, the young cub was found in the Salza Forest, just before the forest fire began. The fire was apparently set by one of the kidnappers, hoping to take the life of the cub and his rescuers._

_When Officer Remy Hart and Officer James Stone arrived at the scene, one of the kidnappers were already dead, apparently killed by the other kidnapper. What happened between the criminal partners, is unknown. The other kidnapper, however, burned to death in the fire._

_Young Beary is currently at a hospital in Shelbyville, in a coma. Doctors refused to comment on the symptoms that brought on the cub's current condition._

_"We're just glad to have him back alive," says Ted Bedderhead, lead vocals of the _Country Bears_._

_"There have been too many kidnappings where the child is never seen again. I'm just glad that Beary isn't one of them," Zeb Zoober, fiddler, comments._

_"Our family is coming back together," Fred Bedderhead, bassist and harmonica, says._

_"I'm just grateful that they [the kidnappers] didn't kill him," Tennessee O'Neal, one-string thang, says gruffly._

_Next to him, his long-time girlfriend, Trixie St. Claire, keyboardist, says, "No family should've had to go through this. Not now, not ever. Why someone would purposely hurt another family is beyond me."_

_Band manager, Henry Dixon Taylor was unavailable for comment, as were the Barrington parents._

_Beary's best friend, eleven-year-old Jewel Stone, did say, "I'm just overjoyed that my best friend is back. I don't know what I would've done without him. He's more like a brother to me than a friend. I was... incomplete, you could say, without him. It was just so unnatural."_

_Dexter Barrington, Beary's older human brother, spoke next. "It's been so quiet with him gone. I would wake up in the morning and not hear him practicing on the guitar like he usually does. The silence was creepy. I would look over at his bed, and not see him there. We may not be blood-related, we're not even species-related, but I just can't imagine life without him here."_

Angrily, the thirteen-year-old crushed the newspaper. "You killed my father, Beary Barrington. I know you did. Adam wouldn't have betrayed my father… Not when Dad was paying for the ingredients Adam needed for his poison. When I find you… I'm going to kill you." His anger-filled eyes narrowed. "You'd just better hope you never wake."

Throwing the paper ball against a wall, the teenager reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette packet and lighter. Opening it, he pulled out a single stick, placed the tip in his mouth, and lit the other end. Inhale, exhale. A long puff of smoke exited his mouth.

His nose was crooked from the punch he had received from Dex Barrington, that _bear's _older brother. It had been broken by that bear-loving bastard. The whole human part Barrington family was a bunch of bear-loving bastards.

"Josh! Get your damn ass in here!" a female voice roared.

Plucking the cigarette from his mouth, he threw it on the ground and stepped on it. He hated bears with a passion. Ever since his father had left him with his "nurse", Nancy, a white polar bear with a bad attitude. The only escape he had ever had from her was at school, not that he liked school. In reality, he hated it. But at least it had gotten him away from _her_.

To be honest, he had already finished school. He had graduated two years ago at the age of eighteen. But, as part of his father's plot to get at the young Barrington, he had to pose as a thirteen-year-old boy. He could play the part well: He was already short for his age and—thanks to some plastic surgery—looked the age as well.

At first, he had hated his father for making have the plastic surgery, but as time went on, he realized that it was for the best. Besides, there were a lot of hot girls at the school. He liked younger girls. Too bad he was already married and had a kid on the way. Otherwise he'd totally get with one of them little fools.

"You _are_ going to die, Beary Barrington. One way or another. Be it by the poison or from me killing you. You will pay for ruining my life," Josh "Chase" Thimple whispered as he stalked back towards the run-down home.

.~*_The_ _Country Bears_*~.

_"I wish I had better news," Daka said softly. "He's in Recovery now, but we'll be moving him to the ICU after we finish transfusing the blood. After that, all we can do is wait."_

That was two months ago. Two months had passed and Beary still hadn't awoken from his comatose state. A _lot_ had happened within that time. Since _Country Bear Hall_ was closest to Shelbyville, only an hour away in a small county called Pendleton, everyone had opted for staying there while waiting for the cub to waken. They all had separate cabins by the _Hall_, the _Bears_ liking simplicity. They also had two guest cabins, one was for when Tasha would come and visit (currently being used by the Stones); the other was for Roadie, who opted for staying in the bus, and that cabin was now occupied by the human part of the Barrington family.

As often as they could, they would all travel together to go visit the comatose cub, hoping beyond hope that he would wake soon. Every day, however, just the Barringtons and Henry would go and visit the cub, considering that one was his biological family, the other being his adopted family.

To help pay for the medical bills, the _Bears_ performed two benefit concerts. Though they were only able to play their original songs—for the new songs they needed Beary for—the fans didn't seem to mind. In fact, the fans were very generous in their donations. Everyone wanted to see the cub wake.

Eventually, school started up again in August and, despite their protests, Jewel and Dex were forced to go back to Nashville in order to continue their education. Neither was happy about going back and openly said so. There had been quite a few arguments about it, as well.

'_Beary, why won't you wake?_'

Jewel Destiny St. Claire sighed softly as she stared out her room window in the window seat, the best place for her to relax and think. Her homework lay discarded on the desk, and her keyboard gathered dust in a corner. An unfinished song that she and Beary had been working on rested upon the dusty keyboard. She couldn't concentrate on anything. She hadn't been able to since she learned that her best friend had been kidnapped. For two weeks she held a terrified feeling deep within her. She hadn't known if her best friend was even alive. None of them had.

Then he was found. Her heart had been overjoyed at the news that he was alive. Her heart broke only hours later when she learned that he was in a coma that he may never wake from.

It was then that she learned the truth about who her _real_ parents were. Needless to say, she had been beyond shocked.

**Flashback**

_"After that, all we can do is wait…" Daka left the room in silence._

_"A coma?" Dex whispered in disbelief._

_None of them could believe it. How could the fates be so cruel? They had just gotten the cub back, and now he was in a freakin' **coma**?_

_A small yawn drew everyone's attention towards the small cub in James' arms. The little black cub yawned again and stretched his arms over his head. His blue eyes blinked sleepily and looked around. That's when he spotted Jewel. "Jewel!" he cried, all tiredness disappearing from his eyes. "Jewel, you back!"_

_Jewel's forest green-tinted with light brown—eyes sparkled with amusement. Placing her paws on her hips, she raised a brow. "How did you not see me earlier, Jordy?" she asked._

_"I only saw Aunt Twixie," the four-year-old answered, looking at the older golden bear. "Hi, Aunt Twixie!" he exclaimed, waving excitedly. "See! I told you zat Jewel look like you!"_

_Tasha's and James' eyes widened, as did Trixie's and Tennessee's. All eyes in the room focused in on the new situation._

_Jewel slowly turned around and gasped, finally noticing who she had been leaning up against. She didn't bother apologizing, however, as her eyes widened. "**A-Aunt** Trixie?"_

_Trixie gave her sister a pleading look, which Tasha ignored. "Trix, I think it's time for secrets to be told and explained. You owe her that much," the black-furred bear said softly. "You and Tennessee both do."_

_With a sigh, Trixie nodded. "You're right, Tash. It's time she knew the truth."_

_Jewel was confused. She looked back at who she thought was her mother. "Mom? What is she talking about?"_

_Tasha echoed her sister with a sigh. "I'm **not** your mother, Jewel. Nor is James your father."_

_The she-cub backed away from everyone, inching closer and closer to the door. "W-What are you saying?"_

_Tennessee and Trixie glanced at each other. This was the moment of truth. They looked back at the confused cub. "_**We're**_ your real parents," they said together._

_That's all it took. A flood of emotion overcame the she-cub. She turned and ran through the door, ignoring the cries from who she _**thought**_ was her parents and who really **were** her parents. She couldn't take it. Everything she had ever known was a _**lie**_._

_Tears stained her fur as she ran through the hallway, bumping into several nurses and other hospital staff. Finally reaching the elevator, she entered it and pressed the button for the top floor. As the doors closed, she could see Trixie and Tennessee moving towards her, calling her name._

_Her name? Was it really her name? She had always thought her name was Jewel Destiny Stone, but apparently that wasn't true, either. Then, what _**was**_ her name? Was her name even Jewel?_

_The doors opened again, revealing a dimly lit corridor. She stepped out of the elevator, still not paying attention to where she was going. When she finally stopped running, she found herself staring at the starry night sky from atop the hospital roof. Looking around, she noticed several chairs and tables._

_She was in an outdoor cafeteria. Along the edge of the roof were long flowerboxes, filled with a variety of flowers. Somehow, the bright colors seemed out of place. Why should this place be cheerful when her life, everything she had ever known, was nothing but a lie?_

_Thankfully, no one was out there that late evening._

_Finding a spot furthest away from the door from which she entered, she sat down and leaned back against a flower box. Bringing her legs to her chest, she wrapped her arms around her knees, resting her snout on top of her arms. Then, she let all the emotions she had bottled up within her go._

_She was crying so hard that she didn't even hear two sets of footsteps coming towards her. It was only natural that she jumped when a paw was placed on her shoulder._

_"Jewel?" asked the soft voice of her _**real**_ mother, Trixie St. Claire, the very bear she had admired for so long._

_"Go away." Jewel sniffed. "I don't wanna talk to you."_

_"Honey, look at me… Please?"_

_Maybe it was the pleading tone in the female's voice, but eventually, the she-cub slowly looked up, tears still rolling down her cheeks. "Why?" she whispered. "Why did you leave me? Why was I lied to for eleven years? _**Why**_?" Her eyes were narrow and filled with anger, hurt, and confusion. "Answer me!"_

_Neither adult bear spoke for a moment. Finally, Tennessee spoke. "Can we sit down?"_

_"Whatever," the cub sniffed._

_Both adults carefully sat down on either side of the cub. All three sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity before Trixie finally spoke._

_"I was scared." She chuckled sadly. "I know that's a pathetic excuse, but it's the only one I could think of." The golden bear sighed. "In reality, there isn't any excuse other than that."_

_Tennessee spoke up. "You see, when Trixie left, the band was breakin' up. Everyone was in a bad mood. She was scared of how we would all take it if she told us she was pregnant. So, she left in the middle of the night." He sighed, a tear rolling down his cheek. "I was devastated. I… I couldn't understand why she left, unless it was for another bear. Once I had that idea in my head, I convinced myself that that was what she had done. I kept askin' myself what was wrong with me."_

_"Tennessee…" Trixie whispered. Clearly, she had not heard of this story._

_"Anyway, while on the _Farewell Tour_, one of our stops was in Iowa, and I knew that Tasha and James' place was on the way to the capital. So, I had Roadie stop there. I asked James if Trixie had been there, and he said she hadn't."_

_"Actually, Tennessee, I was. I was upstairs the whole time. You have no idea how much I wanted to rush down into your arms."_

_"Uh, guys? Can we get back to the situation at hand?" Jewel mumbled, rather annoyed at the lovey-dovey-ness._

_Both bears blushed under their fur._

_Trixie went on. "When you were born, I knew there was no way I could raise you on my own. For one thing, I had no money and no permanent place to live. I couldn't take you traveling with me as I looked for gigs. There would be no one to watch you." Her forest green eyes swam with tears. "Besides, I knew that traveling was no life for a young cub. And another thing, I had to find Tennessee and patch things up with him. I swore to myself that when I found him, I would tell him the truth and come back for you."_

_Jewel looked at her in confusion. "W-What took so long?"_

_"Well, it took me ten years to find him. And even then, I didn't find him. He found me. After that, it took almost a year to get things back to the way they were."_

_"I wouldn't have found you if it wasn't for Beary," Tennessee said with a smile. "I owe a lot to him."_

_Trixie looked at him. "We both do."_

_"Then so do I," Jewel whispered. "He got my real parents back together, even if he didn't know it." Her eyes filled with confusion once more. "Where do Mo- I mean, Tasha and James come in?"_

_Trixie chuckled. "Believe it or not, but Tasha is my younger sister. James is my brother-in-law."_

_"You look nothing alike!"_

_"Everyone says that, but it's true. We are blood-related siblings."_

_"Seriously?"_

_"Seriously."_

_"No lie?"_

_"No lie."_

_"So, they're my aunt and uncle?"_

_"Yup."_

_"And Jordan's my cousin?"_

_"Yup."_

_"This is going to take some getting used to…" The she-cub's eyes suddenly brightened and she grinned broadly. "You know, actually, I'm **glad** you left me with them."_

_Tennessee looked at his cub in confusion. "Why's that?"_

_"If you hadn't, I never would've met Beary." With that, she raised her arms and wrapped them around her real parents. "And just because of that, I forgive you."_

_Surprised at the hug they were receiving, neither older bear moved for a moment. Finally, with tears falling down their cheeks, they returned the embrace._

_Jewel's eyes widened. "Holy cra-"_

_"Jewel!"_

_"Sorry, but I just realized something."_

_"What's that, kiddo?" Trixie asked as she stopped the hug and looked at her daughter in confusion._

_"My parents are Tennessee O'Neal and Trixie St. Claire. That makes me the daughter of two **Country Bears**. Muahaha I got Beary beat."_

_Realizing what she meant, Tennessee and Trixie laughed, quickly joined by Jewel, and hugged each other once again._

_"So, what's my name?" Jewel asked unexpectedly._

_"Well, it would be Jewel Destiny St. Claire," Trixie answered softly._

_"Not O'Neal?"_

_"Well, no… Your father and I never got married, unfortunately. Someday maybe…"_

_"Can I be a bridesmaid?"_

_"Of course!" Trixie eyed Tennessee and smiled. "Whenever it happens."_

_Overhead, the stars twinkled and performed an intricate dance, as if they, too, were celebrating the family reunion._

_They spent the next hour or so catching up. Finally, Tennessee began to stand, struggling slightly. "We should probably be gettin' back. They'll be wonderin' if somethin' happened."_

_The she-bears agreed, but no one made any attempt to move. Eventually, Jewel began to softly sing a forgotten song by the Bears a long, long time ago._

**_When you couldn't find the light  
At the top of the stairs  
When you cried in the night  
Well, you knew they were there._**

**_Will the light of the day  
Was as bright as it seemed  
And you knew in your heart  
You were livin' the rest of the dream_**

_Trixie and Tennessee, though surprised, took over as Jewel's voice dropped out._

**_Well, I had a dream of you  
But I never realized  
Baby, the dream was true_**

**_That's when you opened my eyes  
And I will come through  
Do my very best for you_**

**_And your lovin' arms  
Gonna keep me warm  
Like no other arms will do_**

_Jewel joined her parents, their voiced falling into perfect harmony._

**_When you can't find the light  
At the top of the stairs  
When you cry in the night  
Well, you know I'll be there_**

**_Till the light of the day  
Is as bright as it seems  
And you know in your heart  
You're livin' the rest of the dream_**

_Jewel dropped out, her parents taking over, wrapping their arms around her._

**_And the old man  
Will come through  
Son or daughter  
Just for you_**

**_And your mama's arms  
Gonna keep you warm  
Like no other arms can_**

_They all joined back together in order to finish._

**_When you can't find the light  
At the top of the stairs  
When you cry in the night  
Well, you know we'll be there_**

**_Till the light of day  
Is as bright as it seems  
And you know in your heart  
You're livin' the rest of the dream_**

_As they finished, they fell into silence before Jewel spoke. "That song may not have been very popular, but it's one of my favorites. I came across it one day, and I just couldn't get it out of my head. It… It **spoke** to me, you know?" She looked at her parents. "Does that make any sense?"_

_Tennessee squeezed her shoulders. "Of course, Jewel. Music speaks to us in different ways."_

_"Beary told me that music is another way for a story to be told. He says some stories must be sung." She leaned against her mother. "That music in itself is life."_

_"Well, Beary's a pretty special cub. He sees things that no one else takes the time to see," Trixie said softly, resting her head on the cub's head. "He understands things better than most people or bears."_

_"If he hadn't seen that sign sayin' that Trixie St. Claire was appearing tonight at the bar next to the hotel, we would've passed her," Tennessee commented, removing his arm from around Jewel's shoulders and placed his paw on Trixie's shoulder._

_Jewel smiled. "You know, not only does he sing and play an instrument, but he also draws. You should see his sketch book."_

_"Sketch book?" Trixie asked, surprised. Not too many bears could draw, mainly because their claws would tear the paper. How Beary managed it was beyond her._

_"Oh, yeah. He draws a **lot**. When he's not practicing, that is. He's really good at it, too. Most of the things he draws I can identify. Like a drawing of the _Bears_. He's drawn a picture of the _Hall_, and another bear that he says he sees in his dreams." She sighed. "The picture is always of a scared female bear. I can't describe it, but he captured the emotions perfectly." She closed her eyes, as if she was remembering something. "He said that her name was… Hel-" She broke off, her eyes wide._

_"Jewel, what is it?" Tennessee questioned._

_Her voice dropped to whisper. "He said her name was Helen…"_

_With wide eyes, Trixie and Tennessee looked at each other, and then back at the cub. "Where is this sketch book?" Trixie asked._

_"Dex brought it. It's that black book. Why?"_

_Instead of answering, Trixie and Tennessee quickly and carefully got up. Holding out a paw to his daughter, who took it, Tennessee helped her up._

_"Tenne- I mean, Dad, what's going on?" the Trixie look-alike questioned as they quickly moved back to the door._

_She received no answer until they were inside of the elevator. "If you say that Beary has been drawing pictures of Helen, then it might be possible that he remembers her murder. But, then again, it might be someone completely different," Trixie said, pressing the button for the second floor._

_"But that would be horrible!"_

_"Shh…" Tennessee said as the elevator doors opened again and they stepped out into the ER corridor, which was strangely quiet. Making their way to the break room, they pushed open the door, only to find the room dark and quite empty._

_"Where is everyone?" Jewel asked, flipping on the light switch._

_Tennessee answered by humming the "Twilight Zone" theme._

_"Tennessee!" Trixie laughed, lightly smacking him with her paw. "Stop!"_

_"Well, the opportunity was right there. I couldn't resist!"_

_Jewel giggled as she surveyed the room. Her parents were such dorks. But, they were funny. She smiled. Now she knew where she got her humor from._

_"Excuse me," a voice said behind them._

_Each member of the trio jumped a foot in the air and spun around. Dr. Daka was looking at them in amusement._

_"Dr. Daka, don't scare us like that!" Trixie exclaimed, placing a paw on her chest._

_"I thought bears were supposed to have sensitive hearing," Daka commented, her eyes still full of amusement._

_"Hey…" Tennessee complained._

_"I was just kidding."_

_Jewel giggled again._

_Tennessee ruffled his daughter's golden bangs. "You think that's funny?" he playfully growled._

_"Of course!" the she-cub laughed, ducking under her father's arm._

_Daka stifled a chuckle at the amusing scene._

_Trixie looked at the doctor. "Do you know where everyone went?" she asked._

_"Well, I assume they went out to their… vehicle?"_

_"Bus. We brought the bus."_

_"Where did you park a bus?"_

_"Well, Roadie dropped us off at the emergency entrance, then went to park the bus. So, I can honestly say I have no idea where he parked," Tennessee answered with a grin._

_"Ha, ha. Very funny, Mr. O'Neal," Daka smiled, glancing at the giggling she-bears. She sighed. "I let Mr. Taylor and that human family go see the cub in the ICU an hour and a half ago. They returned an hour ago and went out to the… bus… with the others."_

_"An **hour** ago? How long were we on the roof?" Trixie exclaimed._

_"Well, when I last talked to you, it was around seven o'clock." She checked her watch. "It's nine o'clock now."_

_"Tw-Two hours?" Tennessee exclaimed. "How has it been two hours?"_

_"D-Does that mean its too late to see Beary?" Jewel softly asked, looking down. Trixie put a paw on her shoulder._

_Daka's expression softened. She was about to say "no", but the expression on the young bear's face stopped her. "Normally, yes, it would be… And only immediate family is supposed to be allowed in the ICU… But…" She looked around. "I can make an exception for you to let you see your **brother**."_

_Jewel's eyes immediately brightened as she looked up in surprise at the female doctor. "Y-You mean it?" she exclaimed._

_Daka nodded._

_Jewel immediately hugged her, nearly knocking the doctor over. "Thank you!"_

_Tennessee and Trixie grinned. "Yes, thank you," the brown-furred bear said._

_Daka smiled. "I can only take her, though. We'll be back shortly."_

_Jewel followed the human out of the room, glancing over her shoulder at her **real**parents. They smiled, and she turned back to the doctor, quickly following her into the elevator._

_As the doors closed, Daka pressed the button for the sixth floor. "Now, you can't tell anyone that I did this, or I'll get in trouble."_

_"Why **are** you doing this?"_

_"Well, let's just say that a long time ago, I didn't get to say goodbye to my best friend…"_

_"Beary's not going to die," Jewel answered softly, not looking away from the elevator doors. "I won't let him."_

_"Sometimes we have no choice." Daka placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, like I said, he's a fighter. He'll get through this," she said, squeezing the cub's shoulder._

_"I know," Jewel replied, looking up at the doctor with a smile. "He's one of the toughest guys I know. He knows when to back down from a fight… And when not to back down…"_

_"Sounds like he's a wonderful guy," Daka commented softly. "It also sounds like you admire him a lot… And maybe something more…?"_

_Jewel's fur warmed considerably and she looked down._

_Daka chuckled. "Hey, I won't tell. Besides, you're young. You have plenty of time to get together. Don't let this spoil your relationship."_

_Jewel couldn't believe she was having this conversation with a stranger._

_"Are your parent's seriously Trixie St. Claire and Tennessee O'Neal?"_

_The she-cub grinned. "Yup."_

_"Wow. I never knew they had a cub. I thought that Ms. St. Claire left him."_

_"Actually, she did… sorta. It's complicated. Tenn- I mean, my Dad didn't even know I existed until recently. I didn't even know they were my parents until tonight. I thought my aunt and uncle were my parents."_

_"I'm guessing you never saw this coming."_

_"Nope."_

_The female doctor gave her a grin. "I hope you have many happy years together."_

_The eleven-year-old returned the grin. "Thanks."_

_The elevator doors opened just then and they stepped out into a silent corridor. Doors lined the walls, two right next to each other every eight feet, each going to different room. In the middle of the corridor's right wall was a nurses' station, where two nurses currently sat and worked on paperwork. Another nurse traveled along the corridor, doing her hourly rounds._

_The doctor and cub came to a stop in front of room 633. "This is it," Daka whispered as she quietly pushed open the door, revealing a semi-dark interior. The light from the doorway cast a dim glow in the room, illuminating a wide bed and a still figure upon it. Daka switched on the light switch. Jewel blinked as the room filled with light, but didn't move, her eyes fixated on the still figure. Sensing the cub's hesitation, Daka gently pushed her forward. "Go ahead. It's all right."_

_Slowly, the she-cub walked over to the bed and looked at all the machines that surrounded him. One machine had three green lines moving across its black screen, one of the lines going up and down in rhythm with the beeping. A bag filled with what looked like water hung from a pole next to the bed. A long, thin tube ran from the bag to the comatose cub's left arm. Even with the oxygen mask over his snout, Jewel could see that his snout was slightly open, allowing a semi-thick tube to be inserted in his mouth. The tube on the outside of the mask led to a respirator._

_"So he can breathe better while in this state."_

_Jewel walked over to the right side of the bed and tentatively reached out, taking the light brown paw in her own golden one. Her unique eyes traveled from the end of the bed to the head of it. She could easily see how thin her best friend had become since the last time she had seen him. Had it really been two weeks ago? It didn't seem possible. How could he have lost so much weight in such a short time?_

_"Oh, Beary…" Her voice was barely a whisper. "What have they done to you?"_

_Daka smiled softly. "I'll wait outside," she said. "Take your time." With that, she left the room, silently shutting the door._

_Jewel was grateful for the privacy. Tears matted her cheek fur in streaks as she gazed into the non-responsive cub's face. "Hi, Lil Bear," she said softly. "How did you manage to get into this mess?" Suddenly, she became angry. "Oh, yeah. I remember. You didn't tell any adults about the letters you were receiving. If had just **listened** to me!" Her shoulders shook. "N-None of th-this would've ha-happened…" She folded her arms on top of the bed, one paw still holding Beary's paw, and buried her face within them, crying her heart out for the second time that evening._

_She didn't know how long she had been there, but soon her tears slowly trickled to a halt. Slowly she lifted her head and sadly giggled. "You know, both of us have secret parentages. Your real father is Henry! I know! I was shocked when I found out! Betcha you'll never figure out who mine are! It turns out that who I thought were my parents aren't really my parents after all! They're my aunt and uncle! My real… My real parents are Trixie and Tennessee!" She paused, as if she was waiting for the reply that would never come. "I know. It shocked me too." She continued telling him about what happened on the roof, but still Beary didn't respond._

_It was about fifteen minutes later when she stopped talking. After a few minutes of silence, she sighed. "Well, I'd better let you get back to sleep… Just… Just wake up soon, CBB. You have no idea how much we're all suffering…"_

_She didn't know what made her do it, but she quickly leaned forward and kissed his cheek. Back away, she whispered, "Get better soon, Beary… I miss you… And… And I l-love you…"_

_With that, she quickly left the room, shutting off the light as she left._

_The room fell into darkness once more as the door closed, leaving the sole occupant alone with the beeping machines that he could or couldn't hear…_

**End Flashback**

"Jewel! Jewel, honey!"

The golden she-cub was pulled out of her thoughts by the familiar yell of her Aunt Tasha. She was staying with her aunt, uncle, and cousin during the school year, mainly because Pendleton was too small for a school—or a hospital, for that matter. She didn't want to have to travel for an hour every morning to get to school. So she visited her birth parents on the weekends when they would all go and visit the still-comatose cub.

As it would turn out, when they had examined Beary's sketch book, the picture of the bear that Beary identified as "Helen" was indeed Helen Taylor.

The eleven-year-old he-cub remembered his real mother, even if he did not know that the she-bear he was drawing _was_ his mother.

It had been a shock to all of them.

Jewel got up from her window seat and moved towards her door. Throwing it open, she answered, "What is it, Mo- I mean, Aunt Tasha?"

"Your parents are here!"

Jewel's eyes brightened. She and her _real_ parents had gotten acquainted over the past two months. She had also gotten acquainted with the _Bears_, who graciously accepted her presence, even though she could never replace their youngest member. Though, they did pretty much let her call them Uncle Zeb, Uncle Ted, and Uncle Fred. But Henry just let her call him Henry.

Like Beary had reminded them all so long ago, they **_were_** a family.

Immediately, she grabbed her backpack filed with clothes, and raced down the stairs into the waiting arms of her birth parents.

Everything was well in the world.

Almost.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

.~*Chapter Sixteen*~.

The bed on the right side of the room was empty. It had been empty for almost three months, ever since the end of May. It was now September, and the sheets remained untouched. The bed on the left half of the room, however, was occupied by the older brother of right half of the room's missing occupant.

Dexter "Dex" Barrington stared up at the ceiling, even though he could barely see it, with his hands tucked under his head as he lay on his back. A million thoughts and questions raced through his head, bouncing off the walls of his skull and giving him a major headache. He couldn't sleep, even though it was past three a.m. and he had school in the morning.

Heavy rain buffeted the window as thunder rumbled overhead. Lightning danced across the dark, stormy, night sky, lighting up the dark bedroom in flashes. Each flash brought an old and bad memory to the surface of his mind. Memories of when he hadn't exactly been very nice to his younger brother. All those time he desperately wished he could take back.

Questions filled his mind. Two to three for every flash

_Why had he been so immensely jealous of his baby brother? Because his parents had seemed to love his adopted brother more instead of their own biological son?_

_Why had he even told Beary he was adopted? Would Beary have even run away last year if he had just kept his mouth shut?_

_What if the rangers had never found Beary after Helen had been murdered? Would Beary have even survived? Would Adam have found him and raised him or just kill him?_

_What if his Mom and Dad hadn't picked up Beary? How would things be different?_

_What if Adam Jackson hadn't killed Helen? Would Beary, Helen, and Henry be living happily at the Hall?_

_What if Beary hadn't been kidnapped? Would anyone ever find out the truth in two cubs' pasts? Would Henry have ever admitted that **he** was Beary's real father? Would Trixie and Tennessee reveal **their **secret cub?_

_Who had placed those threatening and death letters in Beary's locker during second semester?_

_Why had Beary been targeted? Whose revenge was it? Adam's or Thimple's?_

_Why had any of this happened?_

_Had he been a good older brother to Beary?_

He didn't have the answers to _any_ of these questions, and **_that's_** what bothered him the most.

He turned over on his side, facing his younger brother's side of the room. It was so unnatural for it to be empty. As lightning lit up the room, he could see the numerous _Country Bears_ posters that donned the walls. Another flash revealed the _Country Bears_ bed spread. Beary had searched all over for it, finally finding it at a yard sale for about two dollars for the entire set. Pillow case, blanket, sheets, everything. He had been slightly offended at the price, but hadn't argued. Allison had cleaned it up and he'd been using it since.

Yet another outlined the lonely and abandoned guitar leaning against the end of the bed, next to which was the suitcase filled with the stuff Beary was going to take on the summer tour. Dex felt horrible as he remembered how excited Beary had been about being allowed to go on the tour. He had packed and repacked again and again, making sure he had everything. The phone his parents had bought him so they'd keep in touch and he wouldn't have to use a pay phone. The new camera… Now, he may never get a chance to use any of them.

A final one illuminated the four picture frames on the nightstand. The images in the frames were taken within the last year and a half. One was a picture of Beary with his adopted family. Dex looked rather grumpy in that photo, glaring at his younger brother. If only he could retake that moment.

The next was of Beary and Dex standing on a dock, with wide smiles, holding the fish they had just caught.

The third was of Beary and Jewel standing on Jewel's front porch at her eleventh birthday party. They held their paws out, catching the snow that fell.

The fourth and final image was of Beary, Henry, Ted, Fred, Tennessee, Trixie, and Zeb, all standing in front of _Country Bear Hall_ on the steps. All had broad smiles on their faces, and Henry's paw rested on Beary's shoulder. If one looked closely, they could see that he was looking at the cub.

A single tear made its way down the teenager's cheek as he surveyed his baby brother's side of the room. He hastily turned away from the scene and rolled on his other side, facing _his_ wall. More tears fell down his cheeks as he remembered what had happened earlier.

Beary had almost **_died_** today, September 14th, 2003. And Dex had watched the whole thing until he had been forced from the room by a nurse…

**Flashback**

_Dex sat there, next to the bed. His hand was rested on the bed just inches from his comatose brother's paw. He never moved it closer._

_He had been here, in this very room, every day since Beary had been found. Had it really been three months? At least the comatose cub looked better than he had before. Dex had barely recognized him when he had seen him for the first time in two weeks after he had been kidnapped while walking home._

_He gazed into the light-furred face of his baby brother. He didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say, anyway._

_Ever since Beary had fallen into a coma, Dex didn't know what to say. He couldn't believe it. How did this happen? **Why** did this happen? The doctors couldn't explain why the cub was still in a coma. He hadn't received a head injury or anything like that._

_Licking his lips, Dex finally found his voice after a few moments. "H-Hey, Doofus," he whispered, feeling silly. "I… I don't know if you can hear me, but…" He broke off and looked around. Seeing that no one else was in the room, he turned back to his brother. Tears began to fall down his cheeks from his chocolate brown eyes. "God, Beary… Why? Why didn't you tell me about the letters? I knew you had been acting strange, but I never expected you had been receiving threatening letters, let alone death threats!"_

_He was getting angry. "Damn it! Why didn't you at least tell an adult? Why did you only tell Jewel? I mean, I know she's been your best friend since kindergarten, but sti-" He broke off, eyes wide. "B-Beary?" he exclaimed in shock, his voice rising a pitch._

_Beary's paw was twitching._

_"Beary, can you hear me?" Dex questioned, thinking that his little brother was trying to wake._

_How wrong he was._

_The twitching turned into full-body jerking. Several machines began going frantic as the jerking intensified within a matter of moments._

_That's when Dex knew the something was really wrong. He recognized this type of movement. He moved away from his brother, raced to the door, and threw it open. "SOMEBODY!" he screamed, not noticing that he had just scared the hell out of everyone in the hallway. "ANYBODY! HE'S HAVING A SEIZURE!"_

_What happened next was a blur. He had run back into the room, followed by several nurses and doctors. Dex was pushed against a wall as they rushed to reach their patient. The teenager just stayed where he was and watched with a distant feeling as the group tried to save his baby brother's life._

_"Damn it!" a bear doctor yelled. "Get the restraints on him! At this rate, he's gonna injure himself!"_

_Another person rattled off a set of vitals that Dex didn't hear. "Beary…" he whispered._

_Daka noticed him just then. "Dex! Is your brother an epileptic?" she demanded._

_The teen shook his head, still staring at the scene before him in disbelief._

_"Get that airway out of him! He's choking on it!" someone yelled._

_"Are you guys idiots? Get those damn restraints off of him and roll him on his side!" Daka ordered angrily. She glanced back at the stunned teen, then at a nurse. "McCall, get him out of here!"_

_One of the female bear nurses moved towards the teen blocking his view. "Come on. Out you get," she said sharply, guiding him out of the room, despite his protests and efforts to get to his brother. "Kid, he's going to be fine!"_

_Daka swore. "He's aspirating! Damn it! Get that airway out of him, **stat**!"_

_Dex wasn't able to hear anymore as he was forced from the room and the door was shut in his face. A million thought raced through his head. His heart was racing a mile a minute and his breaths were shallow and fast. His face was drained of color._

_Had **he** caused this? He had pretty much yelled at his comatose brother, hadn't he? Did **that** cause Beary to have the seizure?_

_The sight of Beary's frantic jerking had sent his mind reeling. He had been surprised that he had even been able to alert someone to the situation._

_Feeling weak in the legs, he leaned against the wall._

_"Are you okay?"_

_A hand was placed on his shoulder, causing him to jump violently._

_"Woah. Have a seat," the kind voice said, gently forcing him to sit on a nearby bench. "Take deep breaths. Come on, calm down."_

_After several deep breaths, Dex slowly looked up at his helper. It was a middle-aged man with graying hair. He had a kind smile that reached his blue eyes. His wardrobe consisted of a white doctor's coat, tan pants, a stethoscope, and black shoes. In his hands was a silver, metal clipboard. "My name is Dr. Early. How about you?" he asked._

_"Dex… Barrington," Dex replied slowly, still in shock._

_"Why did you begin-"_

_"My baby brother…" Dex answered, cutting him off. "Went into a seizure…" He stared at the ICU door._

_Dr. Early's widened. "Are there any nurses or doctors in there?" Dex nodded and Dr. Early let out a sigh of relief. "Then he'll be fine." He chuckled, trying to relieve the situation. "I was wondering why I didn't see any staff up here."_

_Dex barely heard him. He just kept staring at the door, where he knew his younger brother was fighting for his life. "H-He j-just started… shaking…" he whispered. "I thought… I thought he was waking up…"_

_"Coma?"_

_Dex nodded. "He… He's only eleven…"_

_"You were in there by yourself, weren't you?" Dr. Early stated softly. A small nod was his only answer. "You recognized the signs quickly. If you hadn't been there, who knows what would've happened." He sighed when the teen didn't respond. "Can I sit?" Again, only a nod as an answer. "Listen, Dex, I won't lie to you, and I know you are old enough to understand and to be told the truth about medical mumbo-jumbo." This got a weak chuckle out of Dex, causing Dr. Early to let a small smile grace his face before it turned into a serious frown. "A seizure while in a coma is **very** serious. Yes, it **can **kill him."_

_Dex's heart froze. "Th-They said he a-aspirated…"_

_"Did he have an airway in?"_

_"Yeah…"_

_"I saw Renee go in. Your brother's in good hands."_

_The teen was confused. "Who?"_

_"Sorry, I meant Dr. Daka. She's one of the best. That woman can work miracles."_

_Dex thought for a moment before quietly asking, "Then why hasn't my brother woken up yet?"_

_Early placed a hand on the teen's shoulder and lightly squeezed. "Let me let you in on a little secret. Renee has been bothered by your brother's case. You see, when she was younger, she went through a similar situation. She, too, had a friend—more like a brother, really—that was in a coma."_

_The just-turned seventeen-year-old looked at the man in confusion. "Where are you going with this?"_

_"Unfortunately, her "little brother" didn't make it." He looked at the teen, sincerity showing clearly in his eyes. "She's determined to not let the same thing happen to your brother."_

_"How do you know all this?"_

_"Well, she's my niece. Trust her." With that, he gave Dex's shoulder one more squeeze before getting up and leaving._

_Dex watched the doctor leave with a dazed expression._

_"Dex! What's going on? You were supposed to be down in the waiting room ten minutes ago!" Allison Barrington exclaimed as she walked towards her still-sitting son. Norbert Barrington and Henry Taylor trailed behind her with the same confused expressions gracing their faces._

_The spiky-haired teen slowly got up and did something he hadn't done since he was eight—before Beary had been brought home: He ran to his parents' arms and cried._

_"Dex!" Allison exclaimed, surprised. "Dex, what happened?"_

_"He… He had a seizure…" he whispered._

_"Who?"_

_"Beary…"_

_"W-What?" It was Henry that answered. Dex glanced at his brother's **real** father as the bear went on. "Run that by me again. Did you say he had a s-seizure?"_

_The teen slowly nodded._

_That's when Allison began to move towards her adopted son's ICU room. Dex and his father held her back. They didn't have to worry about Henry, however; he didn't move a muscle. "Let me go!" she cried, struggling against her husband's and son's grip. Eventually her struggles ceased and she broke down, crying._

_Norbert immediately drew her into his arms and rubbed her back soothingly "Alli, calm down. He's going to be all right!" he cried as two tears ran down on either side of his face. "He's gonna be okay…" he whispered, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself than her._

_Dex turned away from his parents and looked at the aged bear behind them. "Henry?" he whispered, making his way over to the bear, who didn't respond. "Hey, Beary's a fighter."_

_"I know," the band manager answered softly. "He has… He has his mother's spirit." Chuckling softly, he went on. "He looks so much like her… It's like she's back from the dead…"_

_Behind them, someone cleared his or her throat. Everyone turned and saw Dr. Renee Daka standing behind them. "He's still alive. It was a close call, there, but, Dex, you alerted us to the situation just in time," she said, smiling at the teen. "You saved his life."_

_Dex just nodded, avoiding the surprised looks he was receiving from his parents and Henry._

_"We're going to run a CT scan to find out the cause of the seizure and whether it will happen again. We're also going to run some additional tests and start him on anti-seizure medications. Hopefully, it will prevent any further attacks."_

_"What kinds of tests?" Henry asked, slightly confused._

_Renee Daka hesitated for a moment before answering. "With no previous epileptic history, it is unusual for something like this to happen. Especially one so violent." She sighed. "I must admit that I am curious as to why it happened. Maybe it has something to do with why he's been in a coma for so long."_

_"You must have a theory!" Norbert exclaimed, his voice full of hope._

_"I do. I won't share it, though; because I'm gonna wait for the results of the new tests to come back. But first, we need the tests. Will you sign the consent forms?" Her previous tests had come back negative on the poison, but she wanted to give it another shot, this time geared towards his brain._

_Dex glanced between his parents and Henry, all of which looked as confused as he did, and asked, "Um… Who gets to sign them?"_

_Renee was surprised for a moment before realizing the dilemma. "Wha- Oh. I see… How about both sets sign?" she suggested. Both adopted parents and biological parent nodded. "Well, then, follow me."_

_The teen watched them go before slowly walking towards Beary's hospital room. He wanted to talk to his brother before the eleven-year-old was taken up to wherever it was they were taking him._

_He had to apologize._

_Silently pushing the door open, he saw two nurses checking vitals and messing with equipment. Apparently, they didn't notice him, for they didn't asking him about what he was doing there. Slowly, he approached the bed and hesitantly reached out with his left hand. He paused inches from the light brown paw when the memory of Beary's sudden shaking filled his mind._

_He couldn't do it. He couldn't reach out and touch his younger brother's paw. Why? He was scared. Scratch that. He was **terrified** of it happening again._

_His eyes traveled from the still arm to the light face. A simple oxygen mask covered Beary's small snout, but no tube was in his mouth. His eyes remained as closed as they had been the day he had been found._

_"I'm sorry…" The teen whispered before quickly leaving the room, hating his cowardice._

**End Flashback**

He shuddered, a cold sensation sweeping through his body. Another tear fell down his cheek.

"Dex? You still awake?" Norbert peered through the crack in the doorway. He had woken to go to the bathroom, and on the way back had heard the sniffling.

The spiky-haired teen jumped at the sound of his father's voice. Quickly, he sat up, wiped his eyes on the back of his hand, and leaned on the opposite hand. His _right _hand. Immediately, pain shot up his arm, causing him to gasp and stop leaning. "Ow…" he muttered as he held his wrist. Even after three months, his still-healing wrist gave him grief. Tasha had told him that it might for quite a while.

Norbert was at his side in a matter of moments. "You all right?" he asked, sitting down next to his son. He took the wrist in his hands, carefully examining the whole hand.

Dex yanked his hand back, regretting the action. "**That** was a bad idea," he groaned as his arm began to throb.

"Yes, yes it was," Norbert chuckled softly.

The teen mocked-glared at his father. "What do you need?"

"Just wanted to see how you were holding up. You've had an exciting day."

"Exciting is _hardly_ the word I would use," came the muttered reply.

"True…" Norbert answered as he wrapped an arm around his son's shoulders, gently squeezing them.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Dex whispered, "It's too quiet."

Norbert was confused by the statement. "Huh?"

"It's too quiet without Beary here. I never thought I would miss his constant Country Bears trivia."

"I never thought I would see the day when you said that," his father chuckled.

"I… I miss him, Dad," the teen whispered, resting his head on his father's shoulder. His right hand now rested in his lap, almost lifeless.

"Dex…"

"Why did this have to happen? He's just a kid! It's just not fair!" the seventeen-year-old sobbed. His shoulders shook as tears ran down his cheeks. "What did Beary ever do to deserve this?"

Norbert thought carefully for a moment before answering. "That's just the problem, son. He didn't do anything. He didn't _deserve_ to be kidnapped, chained, muzzled, and shot. He _doesn't_ deserve to be in a coma right now, suffering form who knows what," the forty-four-year-old man commented. "It was just an unlucky twist of fate. But, there is some good that came out of this."

"How the hell did anything **_good_** come from this?" Dex demanded, his voice filled with anger.

"Well, we found out where Beary came from. We found out his past. Jewel found out her true parentage. Oh, and two psychopaths are now dead. Just to name a few."

The teen let a weak chuckle escape his lips. "I finally got to give Josh Chase a piece of my mind. That kid has been bullying Beary and Jewel since he arrived at the school at the beginning of sec-" He broke off, eyes wide. "Since second semester…" Looking up at his father's confused face, he asked, "Didn't Jewel say that Beary had first begun receiving the letters at the beginning of _second semester_?"

Norbert's storm-gray eyes widened as well. "Yeah. Yeah, that's what she said."

With fearful eyes, the spiky-haired young adult said in a neutral tone, "Dad, I don't think this is over yet. Not by a long shot."

"Something tells me that you're right."

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

The man stepped away from the body of the white-furred, female polar bear. Blood pooled around the head of the bear, exiting from the large hole in the back of the skull.

He threw the bloody hatchet to the ground next the female's head then wiped the blood from his hands on his dark shirt. "You should've seen it coming, Nancy. You've abused me for long enough. Now is the time for retribution." He grinned maniacally. "Not bad for a twenty-year-old man that looks thirteen. I may be short for my age, not to mention young-looking, but I was still able to take you down. You were my _first_ kill. Beary Barrington is **_next_**."

Josh Chase laughed cruelly before disappearing into the night. He wouldn't be seen for a long, long time.

The polar bear's sightless eyes gazed up at the night sky, the terror and surprise still visible within them.

The body of Nancy Pilot would not be found until months from now, when the smell of the rotting corpse made itself known to passing hikers.

By then, it would be too late to find the murderer before he struck again…


	18. Chapter Seventeen

.~*Chapter Seventeen*~.

Colorful leaves fell from the trees, floating on the cool wind on that semi-cool October afternoon. The sky was clear. There was a large pond surrounded by tall grass many feet away from the dirt road. A dainty little covered bridge spanned across a small creek, linking one end of the dirt road to the other. In one of the back fields, an elderly, gray-furred bear road a dusty red tractor down the dirt path. Seven small cabins dotted the landscape, mostly hidden amongst the trees. And towards the far left was a forest, over seventy-five acres, surrounded by an electric fence. Inside the wild wolf pack ran free. And even further back past the fields was a large crystal lake. Since it was on Henry's land, it was private, which kept its waters clear and safe.

A building that one could describe as an extended brown barn stood in the middle of all of the beauty, but it was a hollow shell of its former self. _Country Bear Hall_ may have people living within and around her, but she hadn't been **_alive_** for several months. Not since her _heart_ had been brutally ripped away from her humble hall at the end of May.

She was dying like a flame slowly being robbed of the precious oxygen it needs to burn.

Zeb Zoober slowly walked along the lake edge, his mind lost in thought. The wind gently ruffled his dark, golden-brown fur. His forest green eyes were dull, eyelids drooped, and his face shaded by his wide-brimmed hat. His arms hung limp at his side and his feet dragged as he walked.

When was the last time he had gotten a decent night's rest? He couldn't remember. In fact, he couldn't remember when **_anyone_** had last gotten a decent night's rest.

A slow, mournful sigh escaped his lips. So much had happened in the last four and a half months. Some good, some bad. Some great, some horrible.

**The bad:**

**-** Beary had been kidnapped and practically starved.

**-** Beary has been in a coma for four and a half months.

**-** It had been confirmed that a new kind of poison had been used on the cub. The effects the poison has are unknown, but are said to be the reason why the cub was still in a coma. The seizure he had had, had revealed the poison was beginning to kill the cub.

**-** There was no antidote for said poison.

**The good:**

**-** Beary had been found alive.

**-** Henry was finally able to admit that his son was still alive.

**-** Tennessee and Trixie revealed that they, too, had a cub of their own, and finally got to reveal her to everyone else. That cub's name was Jewel, and she just happened to be Beary's best friend since kindergarten.

**-** Beary's _true_ past finally came to light.

**-** Two psychopaths were now dead.

**-** Did he mention that Beary had been found alive?

**The great:**

**-** The medical examiner who was examining Reed Thimple's corpse discovered that Beary wasn't responsible for the man's death. Thimple had had a massive coronary and **_that's_** what killed him. The blow to the man's head—from when Beary was escaping—didn't help matters much…

Everyone had let out loud cheers and relieved sighs when they were told this. Dex had just looked at everyone, confused, then angrily when someone told him the truth. He had refused to speak to anyone for almost two days after that.

**The horrible:**

**-** Beary may never wake from his coma, and, if he does, it is unknown whether he will ever be able to sing or speak again, due to some kind of injury to his vocal cords.

**-** In September, they had found out that this, the Revenge—as Jewel and Dex dubbed it—may not yet be over. There was another person involved. Someone _none_ of them expected. A teenager by the name of Josh Chase was possibly responsible for placing the threatening letters in Beary's locker since the teen had arrived at the middle school at the beginning of second semester. Why the teenager was involved, no one knew. No one could ask him.

**-** Josh Chase had disappeared without a trace.

Josh Chase had never showed up at Dex's high school on the first day of the new school year, and Jewel hadn't seen him hanging around the middle school, either. She probably would've slugged him if she had.

The fiddler sat down on a log that was a short ways away from the lake. Today was Friday, October 17th, 2003. It was also his 42nd birthday.

He didn't feel like celebrating it, though. No one had brought it up, and he didn't mention it, so he didn't mind.

Two years ago, at times like this, when he was feeling down, he would normally go to a bar and get a cup of honey. Just honey. Not that disgusting honey mixed with humans' alcohol. He refused to drink Honey Ale. He knew what it could do to a bear.

But he would drink large amounts of honey.

But since he had met Beary a little over a year ago, he had been trying to change. So far, he had managed to stay away from any kind of honey. Even the kind used in food.

The cub had gotten him out of a **_huge_** debt when he had arrived at _The Swarmin' Hive Honey Club_ in Nuttville…

**Flashback**

_His back itched. Real bad._

_He reached into his white vest pocket, but found no coins, as usual. _'Darn,'_ he mentally cursed. Walking over to the bar counter, he called, "Set me up, Cha-Cha!"_

_The black woman known as "Cha-Cha" scowled at him from the opposite end of the counter. Another bartender brought the bear a quarter, which he took gratefully. Hmming, the dark, auburn bear went over to the _Bark O Scratcher_, which was basically a log that was attached to some kind of mechanical device in the wall that—when a quarter was inserted into the coin slot—will begin moving up and down, thus scratching your back._

_Still humming, he placed the quarter in the coin slot. The log immediately began to move. Turning, he leaned back against the log, moaning with pleasure as the log scratched his back. "Oh, yeah…" he muttered, his voice shaky. He closed his eyes._

_"Hey, there, Zeb."_

_The familiar voice startled the former fiddler. Raising his paws to his hat, he lifted the large brim from over his eyes, which then widened at the sight before him. "Henry? Fred? Is that you?" He couldn't help the smile that crossed his face when he saw Henry. He had really missed him. After all, Henry had given him a home back when he was sixteen and had run away. After the talent show, Henry had talked to him and invited him into his home._

_The bears and human in front were indeed Henry Taylor, Fred Bedderhead—who waved—and Roadie. He didn't recognize the cub, though. So he basically ignored him._

_Zeb stepped away from the _Bark O Scratcher _before his time was up. He regretted it immediately as the itch in his back flared up again. But because of his shock of seeing his friends again, he managed to ignore the burning itch. "Am I seein' things?" he wondered aloud as he approached the group._

_"No, you aren't. We're really here, Zeb," Henry chuckled, a smile on his face. "Been a long time, son."_

_Just to be sure, Zeb walked closer to them and poked the elder bear in the arm, briefly hearing the mysterious cub giggle. Satisfied that the elder bear, at least, was real, he proceeded to do the same to "Fred" and "Roadie". The mysterious cub's giggling grew louder. Slightly annoyed, Zeb glanced in his direction once he was satisfied that "Fred" and "Roadie" were indeed real. He finally took the time to examine the cub. He was wearing a light blue-gray jacket with a blue shirt and army green cargo shorts._

_A brief flicker of recognition registered in his brain. _'It's a male Helen…'_ he thought in amusement. _'Henry finally got his cub. A real one instead of adopted…' _He glanced between Henry and the cub—both of them looking at him in confusion and, for a brief instant, he saw a look of fear in Henry's eyes—and saw the similarities. Mainly the eyes. They looked exactly alike. Wait. No. The cub's eyes were filled with childish innocence; Henry's was filled with something he couldn't comprehend. Something he'd never seen before._

_Shaking his head, he looked at the entire group. "Well, what are y'all doin' here?" he asked._

_Henry, Fred, Roadie, and the cub glanced at each other. "Uh, why don't we sit down," Henry suggested, pointing towards an empty table near the front of the bar._

_Zeb shrugged and led the way to the table. As they all sat—the cub between Fred and Zeb—the honeyaholic asked again about what they were all doing there._

_"Well, we're going to have a reunion benefit concert," Henry said bluntly. "Fred's already agreed to help. Big Al's getting the place ready. Besides, what do you have here?"_

_Zeb opened his mouth to answer, but then closed it as he thought about the question. What did he have here? He had his honey… but not his family, whom his missed dearly. Not that he'd admit it, of course._

_Henry took the opportunity to go on. "Now come on, Zeb. What do you say? Give up the honey and come with us."_

_Zeb sighed and looked around at them all as he spoke. "Guys, even if I wanted to leave town, I couldn't! I owe Cha-Cha over there," he pointed over his shoulder at the bar counter, "a lot of money." Sure, he was just using this as an excuse to not leave the bar with the honey and Cha-Cha, but really? Why would anyone want him back? He was just a nuisance._

_There was silence for a moment as Henry tried to figure out what to say to convince the former fiddler to come with them. "Don't you want to come home…?"_

_Before Zeb had a chance to answer, Fred spoke up. "I'm hungry. Wanna split an order of salmon fingers?" he asked, glancing at the group around the table._

_"Oh, Fred…" Henry signed in annoyance._

_"How 'bout twigs an' berries?"_

_Henry just groaned._

_Meanwhile, the cub let out a gasp before getting up and leaving the table, much to the surprise of the seated bears and human._

_"Hey," Zeb exclaimed watching the cub go up to the counter. He looked back at Henry, with confusion in his eyes. "What's that boy doin'?"_

_Henry sighed in exasperation. Rolling his eyes, he muttered in an annoyed tone, "I don't know… He just goes and does his own thing."_

_They all looked back at the cub as he shook the bartender's hand. They then looked at each other in confusion._

_A few moments later, the cub returned. Without sitting, he looked at Zeb and said, "You're **Zeb Zoober**."_

_Zeb was both startled and amused. "Yeah, well I… That may be true… But I…" He glanced at the others in confusion. "Who **is** this guy?"_

_Henry softly grinned. "Well, that's Beary."_

_Zeb noticed an immediate change in the elder bear's eyes. He was about to comment on it when Cha-Cha's voice interrupted him._

_"Uh, ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention for a minute?" the slightly plump, black woman asked from onstage._

_All eyes in the bar turned to look at her in surprise and confusion._

_Now that she had everyone's attention, Cha-Cha went on. "Now, as most of you know, Zeb Zoober owes me a whole heap of money."_

_"Mmhmm," Henry agreed. He would have helped pay back that money, but he himself was in debt._

_Cha-Cha looked directly at the table the group was sitting at. "Well, his little friend there has proposed a wager." She grinned. "My house band verses Zeb's fiddle in a little musical duel."_

_Zeb's eyes widened in disbelief._

_"Now, if he wins, he owes me nothin'. But if he loses," she paused for dramatic effect, "I get to keep the _Country Bear_ tour bus."_

_Henry's eyes widened. "What?" His surprise was echoed by many people in the bar._

_"This should be good," Cha-Cha finished with a chuckle as she walked off the stage. She knew her house band was going to win. No doubt about it in her mind._

_Standing, Henry turned to the cub—recently identified as Beary—with rage-filled eyes. Beary flinched under the smoldering gaze. "Son, that bus is our only means of transportation!" the bear practically yelled._

_Roadie decided to get a word in. "Not to mention that's where I raised my kids. Till the wife took them in the divorce."_

_Zeb finally spoke. "Plus, I don't think you've all seen the house band." He gestured towards the stage where a group of people of people began setting up various instruments. The drinker looked back at the group around the table. "I don't know about this," he mumbled. "I don't even know where my fiddle is!"_

_"It's in the bus," Roadie commented. "I'll go get it." He quickly got up and left._

_"C'mon, Zeb. I know ya can do it," Fred encouraged._

_"It looks like you're our only hope at keeping the bus. There's no way we can back out of the wager and keep the bus," Henry said, still glaring at Beary, who now stared at the table with his ears laid back. Zeb knew that look all too well. He was trying to make himself small and hidden, much like what the auburn bear had done long ago when he lived with his abusive father._

_Zeb felt back for the kid. He knew he was only trying to help. He sighed. "Like I said, y'all haven't seen the house band. They're good. They're **real** good." The truth was, he was scared. He hadn't played his fiddle in ten years! Who knows if he could still play? With the luck he's been having, he's was gonna lose. "I don't think I-"_

_A small voice spoke. "**I** believe in you."_

_The golden brown bear looked at… **Beary**… in surprise and saw nothing but pure childish innocence in his hazel eyes. _'I can't let a kid down… Especially one with _those _eyes… They're just too… **_innocent_**,' _he thought. Out loud, he said, "I still think this is a bad idea." He looked into the cub's eyes again and his feelings resolved. "But I'll do it." With that, he stood, took his fiddle from Roadie—who had just arrived—then walked up the stage._

_As the lead singer began to strum the electric guitar, Zeb couldn't help but wonder if he was doing the right thing. Maybe he should just back out… But this guy, the head of the band, was making fun of him. Time to return the favor._

_His fiddle began to screech as he attempted to play it for the first time in almost ten years. He winced as the harsh screeching reached his ears. In fact, everyone in the bar winced as well._

_It was over._

_He had failed._

_Zeb looked at the crowd with failure in his eyes._

_It was then that he heard a cheer amongst the crowd. Surprised, he looked out and saw Beary cheering him on even though so many were booing the fiddler. _'Why is he cheering me on? I _failed_. Doesn't he know that?_' he wondered in confusion. Still, the cub continued to cheer him on. Something changed within the forty-year-old. He **knew** he could do it._

_Zeb took a deep breath and began to sing, "Woah, now hold on just a minute! Hold that jive! Cause I can feel this fiddle 'bout to come alive!" Just like he said it would, his fiddle did come "alive". For the first time in ten years, he felt good. The cheering crowd egged him on. "That felt so good!"_

_After that, the **real** musical duel truly began. They were shoving each other, jamming out, trying to out-play the opposing force while the crowd cheered them on. Finally, the lead singer backed down when the notes became too high for his ears._

_Zeb raised his arms, knowing he had won._

_"Go Zeb!" Henry shouted._

_"Yeah, go Zeb!" Beary shouted, echoed by many of the people in the bar. _

_Zeb didn't really get a chance to relish in his glory as he fell over in a dead faint._

**End Flashback**

That was the last thing he remembered about being in the bar. Apparently, he had passed out shortly after that, much to his embarrassment. He had awoken on the bus a few hours after that, much to his surprise and horror when had learned what he had done…

**Flashback**

_"Ooo… My head…" he groaned as he finally became aware of his surroundings. "Stop rockin' the boat…"_

_"Well, wha' do ya know. Sleepin' beauty is finally 'wake," a familiar voice chuckled._

_He blinked and looked around in confusion. He wasn't in the bar! Then… Where **was **he? "Where am I?" he asked in a loud, panicked tone._

_"Shh! You'll wake him," another voice said._

_Zeb looked in the direction that the new voice was coming from and his forest green eyes widened in disbelief. "F-Fred?" he stammered. "You mean it wasn't a dream?"_

_The dark brown-furred bear was indeed the first one Zeb had seen on the bus. "Uh, no," he answered, his voice tinged with amusement._

_"Shh!"_

_Zeb looked father up the bus and saw Henry sitting in his armchair at the front of the bus. Across from him was the cub, curled up on the bench, sleeping. _'Aww… That's kinda cute…_' he thought in amusement. Out loud, he asked, "What time is it?"_

_"Around seven in the morning," Henry replied, barely glancing at him. "You've been out of it all night."_

_"Aw, man…" the fiddler groaned. "How'd ya get me on the bus?" he asked as he slowly sat up. His vision swam slightly and his head pounded._

_"That's a story I'd rather not repeat," the elder bear chuckled darkly. "Or let happen again."_

_The drinker winced. "Did I take a swing at any of y'all?" He had been told by Cha-Cha that he would sometimes get violent when he had honey. And he knew he had had honey the previous night before Henry and the others had mysteriously arrived at the bar. In fact, he had been surprised that he had even been able to think somewhat clearly and play the fiddle in his semi-drunken state. At least the food he had eaten had delayed the drunken reaction._

_No one answered his question. Fred and Henry glanced at each other._

_Zeb looked between them. "Guys, who did I hit?"_

_"Well, it wasn't **very** hard…" Henry began._

_"And he knows it was an accident…" Fred went on._

_"You might wanna apologize to him, though!" Roadie called back._

_The fiddler's forest green eyes widened and filled with horror. "I didn't hit the cub, did I?" he exclaimed, looking at the peacefully sleeping cub. _'Helen's gonna kill me._'_

_The band manager sighed before nodding. "You were actually aiming for either me or Fred, but Beary got in the way by accident." He looked down at the cub again._

_"Oh, God…" Zeb whispered. "Where? How hard?" he demanded._

_"Just a little below his left ear."_

_"How **hard**?" Zeb repeated._

_"Hard enough to send him to the ground," came the soft reply. "You scared him quite a bit."_

'Oh yeah, Helen's gonna kill me,_' he thought to himself before speaking out loud. "How hurt is he?" the golden brown bear asked in an equally soft voice. "How much did I… Did I hurt him?"_

_"He had a headache," Fred answered._

_"How bad?"_

_Henry looked at Zeb and answered. "He wouldn't say for sure, but it was kinda obvious it hurt quite a bit." The pepper-furred bear glanced once more at the sleeping cub, a strange expression crossing his face. "He went to sleep shortly afterwards and hasn't woken-" A small yawn interrupted him and he let out a relieved sigh as the cub slowly began to sit up. "Yet."_

_Beary slowly looked around, wincing slightly as he turned his head to look at the other occupants of the bus with tired eyes._

_"How you feeling, Beary?" Henry asked._

_"My head hurts," the cub muttered as he continued looking around. When his hazel green eyes locked onto Zeb's forest green ones, his eyes widened. "When did you get here?" he questioned, genuinely surprised._

_Zeb, confused and surprised, looked at the others, who shared in his confusion._

_"Uh, Beary, don't cha remember?" Fred questioned._

_"Remember what?" the cub asked, now even more confused than before._

_"We picked up Zeb last night," Henry said, concerned._

_Zeb could tell that the bus was slowing down. He knew that Roadie might pull over. At the moment, however, he didn't particularly care about what the human was doing. His concern was with the confused cub._

_"Was I asleep?" Beary asked, now looking at Henry._

_The band manager sighed. He glanced at Zeb. The auburn bear knew that Henry was debating on whether to tell the cub the truth or not. Zeb nodded and Henry began to talk._

_"No, Beary. You weren't asleep. You were with us the entire time," the elder bear said softly. He began to tell the cub what exactly happened in the bar._

_"But why don't I remember?" the cub questioned again._

_"That would be my fault, kid," Zeb answered. Beary looked at him, and the older bear went on. "I was slightly drunk last night. Apparently I took a swing at either Fred or Henry, but you got in the way. You took the hit on the head and that's why you can't remember." He sighed. "I want you to know how sorry I am. I didn't mean it."_

_The ten-year-old thought for a minute before grinning. "It's okay. I know it was an accident."_

_Zeb was startled. A quick glance at the others showed that they were just as startled as he was. He had been prepared to be rejected by the cub, not be **forgiven**!_

_"Just don't do it again. It kinda hurt," the cub added with a small chuckle._

_The fiddler returned the chuckle. "I won't. I promise." Inwardly he vowed to himself that he would never drink again._

_He knew he would not be so easily forgiven if it happened again._

_"Say, Beary, how would you like to hear a song?" he asked._

_The cub nodded cheerfully…_

**End Flashback**

"Uncle Zeb! Uncle Zeb!"

Zeb's eyes widened before a pair of golden-furred arms wrapped around his waist from behind. A smile crossed his face. "Afternoon, Jewel," he chuckled. "What have you been up to?"

The arms released him and the cub's face appeared as the she-cub sat down one the log next to her "uncle". Today she was wearing a waist-length black robe with rubies on fire over a pair of jeans and a tank top and her claws were painted a deep red. Her uniquely colored eyes held a dull sparkle that Zeb knew wouldn't return to their former self until Beary woke from his coma.

'**_If_**_ he wakes…_' he silently thought.

"Oh, nothing much. Just wanted to wish you a happy birthday," she grinned.

Zeb wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Well, thank you, lil' Trix," he replied, calling her by the nickname he had dubbed her with. He truly loved his "niece", even though he had only known her for a few months. The two had quickly bonded.

He, along with everyone else, had been _shocked_ when they had learned of the cub's _true_ heritage. None of them had expected that the reason that Trixie had disappeared all those years ago was because she was _pregnant__!_

"You gonna come over to the _Hall_? We brought cake and ice cream," the she-cub grinned.

"Oh, did you?" the fiddler questioned playfully. "What flavors?"

"Well, the ice cream is Neapolitan and cookies and cream. The cake is chocolate with, well, chocolate frosting." The eleven-year-old smiled sheepishly.

"Store bought?"

"Nope. Home made."

"Trixie?"

"Nope."

"Tasha?"

"Nada."

"I wouldn't believe it, but, Tennessee?"

"Nuh-uh."

"James, then."

The golden she-cub laughed. "Uncle James? Cook?" she just about fell off the log from laughing so hard. Luckily, Zeb was still holding her up with his arm around her shoulders. "Have you ever had burned food before?" she asked once she had calmed down somewhat.

"Yeah."

"His food is ten times worse. In fact, he's the only bear I know that can burn water."

Zeb's eyes widened. "You're jokin'."

"Nope. I've seen him do it. That's why Aunt Tasha suggested that I take Home Ec. Now, when she's at work, I can at least provide Jordan with a decent meal." She giggled again. "Jordan's not the only one who likes my cookies. Beary practically _worships_ my sugar cookies. In fact, he had some on the day he was kidnapped." Realizing what she had just said, she put her paws over her snout and looked down, finding the ground suddenly fascinating.

"Hey, it's in the past, kiddo. When Beary wakes, you can bake him some sugar cookies. Trust me when I say he'll be grateful for them instead of the hospital food. That stuff is disgusting." Failing to get a smile from the sad cub, Zeb tried something else. Think about it this way: Your sugar cookies were probably what kept him alive during his…_captivity_."

She looked up. "Really?"

"Of course!"

Jewel grinned. "Thanks, Uncle Zeb."

The older bear returned the grin and stood. "Now, let's go get us some Jewel-made cake and ice cream." The cub giggled and together they walked towards the hall.

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

Rain began to fall from the overcast sky like a silver curtain. A few of the silvery drops landed on what little leaves were left on the trees and dripped down the branches to the trunk of trees.

A male brown bear—wearing a blue-striped, black sweater—and a golden-furred, female bear—wearing a long, green, black-stem patterned coat with a fake fur lining over a dress—walked through the rain, protected by an oversized black umbrella that covered both of them. They walked in silence, just enjoying each others' company on that cool, rainy, October 29th morning.

It was 7:00 a.m. No one else was awake yet, leaving the couple in blissful silence, sans the rain, something they were grateful for. Since it was a Wednesday, Jewel was with her aunt and uncle so she could go to the same school with her friends. Sometimes there was a surprise visit in the middle of the week, but not often. She always came to the _Hall_ on weekends.

It had taken the cub a month to finally get used to the fact that her _real_ parents were Trixie St. Claire and Tennessee O'Neal. It had been slightly awkward at first, but eventually they wall got used to it. However, Jewel didn't share everything she had with her aunt and uncle with her real parents.

"This isn't natural."

The she-bear's voice startled Tennessee. Glancing at his girlfriend in surprise, he said the only thing he could. "Huh?"

Trixie looked at him with a mixed expression. "Why does everything seem so peaceful when in reality, it's not?" she questioned. "Why does the world go on as if everything is okay when it's not?"

"If I knew the answer, Trix, I would tell you. Unfortunately, I don't. I can only speculate," the former counselor answered. They stopped walked and the brown bear held a paw out from under the umbrella, feeling the cool rain. "The world must go on. No matter what. Seasons some and go, as they should. If a pebble is tossed into a stream, the stream still flows, correct? It doesn't stop. It carries on."

"But if a boulder rolls into the stream, it stops," Trixie countered.

Tennessee shook his head and chuckled. "For a time, yes, it stops movin' forward. But it pools up around the boulder and eventually bursts its banks. It goes around the boulder and continues movin'. Thus, it keeps movin' forward. It may take a while, but in the end, life moves on."

Trixie looked dumbfounded. "What on Earth did you just say?"

He shrugged. "I dunno."

The she-bear responded by cuffing him over the ear. "You're hopeless." As he rubbed the back of his ear, she rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his waist. "But that's why I love you."

Tennessee grinned and rested his own head on hers. "I know. I love you, too." If his right paw had been free—currently, it was holding the umbrella handle—he would've wrapped his arm around her waist.

They began walking again, the rain still gently falling. Neither cared that the fur on their feet was getting wet from the damp grass.

Life at the _Hall_ had slowly gotten back to normal in the past few months. Beary's name was seldom mentioned, unless something had happened at the hospital. It cause too much pain to all of them, especially Henry.

They had all recently learned that Beary's birth had been a miracle. Helen wasn't supposed to have been able to bare any offspring because of a sickness she had had when she was a cub. The fact that the cub had been conceived had been a shock to both Henry and Helen. Neither had expected it.

Tennessee felt horrible for the elder bear. Since the time Beary had been born, he had been hidden, along with his mother, Helen. Then, at the age of three, his mother had been murdered and the cub was raised by the human family.

'_At least Henry knew that his cub was still alive… And even existed,_' he thought to himself. '_I didn't even know that Jewel existed until a few months ago._' He sighed. '_Then again, I can hug my cub. Henry basically has to watch his son slowly die on a hospital bed…_'

"What are you thinking of, Tenny?" Trixie asked, using the nickname she had given him. It was much easier than saying Tennessee all the time. She lifted her head from his shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, nothin'."

"Tenny, don't lie to me. I know something is bothering you. Tell me." She came to a halt, refusing to move until her boyfriend talked. The rain fell harder, sounding like a waterfall as if beat down on the umbrella and ran off the sides.

Tennessee sighed again and looked at her. "Well, up until a few months ago, I had no idea that I had a cub. Henry has known for years that his cub had survived Helen's murder. For eight years, he was forced to deny that his son was alive, let alone admit that he knew where he was. Finally, he is able to admit the truth, but is unable to tell the boy because Beary's in a coma because of two psychopaths!" His gaze drifted to the ground. "It's just not right…"

Trixie gently squeezed his shoulder. "The world works in strange ways. After all, we finally found each other after ten years." A small tear slipped down her cheek. "I agree that it isn't right. We've all agreed that none of this is right. We can only wait and hope that everything will eventually right itself."

"Beary does have a way of surprising people. HE's just takin' a well deserved rest," the one-string thang player said thoughtfully.

The keyboardist softly grinned. "That's a good way to think about the situation. When he's ready to wake, he will."

They began walking again, each lost in his or her thoughts. The rain began to fall softer and the wind gently blew droplets into the bears' fur.

"Did Jewel say what she was gonna dress up as for Halloween?" Tennessee asked after a few minutes.

His long-time girlfriend shook her head. "Tash said that Jewel and Beary were gonna do a couple's costume. They _were_ going to dress up as a pair of," she chuckled, "singers."

The thang player laughed. "That fits."

"I don't think she's gonna dress up this year, though," the she-bear sighed. "She can't be half of the costume."

"That's true. Who knows. Maybe she'll surprise us. After all, she's been Beary's best friend since kindergarten." He grinned. "She would have a back-up plan."

"Well, she does have your brains."

"But she has _your_ looks." Tennessee kissed her on the cheek, causing her to giggle.

"Yeah, we're lucky she looks more like me than you," Trixie grinned cheekily.

"Hey!" the brown bear complained. "I'm good lookin'!"

Trixie rested her head on his shoulder again. "I know. You're sweet, fun, entertaining… And a good singer. The ladies love you, heartthrob."

Tennessee grinned. "And you are… um…" he paused, just knowing that his hesitation would drive her crazy.

His plan worked as she removed her head from his shoulder and glared at him. "'Um'? What, you can't think of anything?"

He chuckled. "You know, you're cute when you're annoyed."

For some reason, this just made Trixie laugh. It was a good answer… somehow… But she would settle for it. For now.

The rain trickled to a stop. Tennessee shook the umbrella and closed it. Transferring the now-closed umbrella to his other paw, he wrapped his free arm around Trixie's waist. As they walked under a tree, water from the leaves fell on his nose, causing him to sneeze.

Trixie laughed as he wiped his nose on the back of the paw holding the umbrella. "Tenny, that's gross!" she complained half-heartedly. In reality, she found it highly amusing.

"Oh, you think that's funny?"

"Yes!"

Tennessee, smirking, removed his arm from her waist, reached up and grabbed a branch, shaking it.

Trixie let out a startled cry as millions of droplets fell on her head. "That's not fair!"

The former counselor grinned and began to run away from the annoyed she-bear, who immediately gave chase. Since Tennessee had shorter legs—he had a tall torso while Trixie had the opposite—she easily caught up to the forty-four-year-old and tackled him to the wet ground, tickling him mercilessly.

It was like they were in their twenties again as they laughed on the ground, ignoring the fact that they were getting dirty from the wet and muddy ground.

A few minutes later, they sat up, still laughing, and looked at their filthy clothes and fur, which were covered in mud.

"We better go get cleaned up," the golden she-bear chuckled as she stood up. "The others might have some rather dirty thoughts if they saw us like this." Smiling, she helped her boyfriend up and they began walking towards their separate cabins.

Upon reaching the crossroads that separated their two homes, Tennessee gave her a kiss. "I'll see you later."

"Gotcha." Trixie returned the kiss before walking towards her cabin.

The grizzly watched her go before walking towards his own cabin. He needed a shower and some sleep. He had been up late at nights, wondering how to ask a certain question that was _long_ overdue.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

.~*Chapter Eighteen*~.

Riding his black Harley on the highway on that November 3rd morning, Fred Bedderhead sighed. It was a cool Monday, with temperatures in the upper 50s. It was kite flying weather with the strong winds. The loud purr of the motorcycle's engine soothed the dark brown-furred bear as he rode along, humming along to _Real Gone_ by Sheryl Crow.

He was out driving in order to clear his head. A **_lot_** had happened in the past few months:

- Beary being kidnapped

- Trixie and Tennessee revealing that they had a cub

- Henry revealing that Beary truly **_was_** his son

- Beary being found

- Beary still being a coma since the middle of June.

Yep. A **_lot_** had happened in the past few months than the last year combined!

Fred could still remember the day Beary and Henry had arrived at where he worked about a year ago…

**FLASHBACK**

_"Stage dive! Stage dive! Stage dive! Whoa!" Fred chanted as he began to run towards the edge of the stage, memories clouding his mind. He thought he saw an audience below, chanting and cheering his name, just waiting to catch hi—_

**THUMP!**

_He landed on his stomach on the hard ground, where there were **not **any people in an audience. It was just cold, cement floor. What a pity. _

_In the distance, he thought he heard a familiar voice groan, "Oh, Fred…"_

_He was vaguely heard the footsteps as onlookers—mainly members of Krystal's band—came towards him._

_"Hey, Fred. You all right?" Krystal asked, her chocolate brown eyes filled with worry and concern._

_Fred Bedderhead turned halfway over and looked at the white-wearing singer. Blushing under his fur at his embarrassment, he tried to explain himself. "Uh… The Dive works better-"_

_"Yeah, with an audience, right?" Krystal finished for him._

_"Yeah," the bassist agreed._

_"Yeah," she softly giggled as she stood up straight. "Well, if you're all right, I gotta go get ready for the shoot._

_"Okay."_

_"It was fun." She waved, and then disappeared._

'Great job, Fred,_' he mentally groaned. _'You're _never_ going to be able to live this one down._' He watched her leave, still feeling downcast. "Sure was! Wish I could play some more!" he called as he began to get himself up._

_"I might be able to help you out with that."_

_The voice was familiar, yet unexpected. Turning halfway over again, he looked at the two bears—an adult and a cub—coming towards him with wide eyes._

_"Huh? **Henry**?"_

_It was indeed Henry Dixon Taylor, his former band manager. Where he had come from, Fred didn't know, but he was glad to see his old friend._

_Henry looked down at him with a small grin. "Need any help?"_

_Fred nodded, and Henry and the mysterious cub each grabbed one of his paws and pulled him to his feet—the cub nearly falling on his backside in the process; a quick grabbing of his arm—courtesy of Henry—prevented that. He brushed himself off and looked at Henry, ignoring the cub—though he **was** admittedly curious about him. But, considering how much he looked like Helen, he didn't question anything about him. "What ya doin' here, Henry?" he asked._

_The cub looked up at Henry expectantly as the elder bear began to speak. "Well, um… You see…"_

_"Spit it out, Hen. I don't have all day. I have to get back to-" he glanced around at the warehouse, watching the people scurry about, "-work." He began walking back to his "desk", which was actually pretty much just a podium. All he did around here was stand around and try to look useful. Nothing exciting ever happened. But, since his ice cream business went up in flames, it was all he was qualified to do._

_Seeing Henry's hesitation, the cub spoke. "We're having a benefit concert."_

_Henry finally found his voice and echoed the cub's words. "We're getting the band back together for a benefit concert and hoping you could help out."_

_"Get the band back together?" Fred questioned as he pulled off his cap and security belt that had his taser, walkie-talkie, and other security equipment on the small table. He was starting to mull this thought over. It would be nice to put down the belt and pick back up his guitar and harmonica. _

_"You can do it!" the cub encouraged. "You're Fred Bedderhead. The amazing, world famous Fred Bedderhead." Fred looked away from the podium and glanced at the cub in amusement and confusion as he went on. "**Thee** Fred Bedderhead."_

_"Uh…" He glanced at Henry while putting a paw on his hip. "Who is this guy?"_

_Henry grinned while glancing at the cub. "Oh, that's Beary." He looked back at the dark-furred bear. "And he's right!"_

_"But how you goin' to get people to come to the show, Hen?"_

_"Uh…"_

_"Why don't ya call Rip Holland, Hen?" Beary questioned, surprising the two older bears. How on earth did this cub know of **him**?_

_"Rip Holland?" Henry growled, causing the cub to wince slightly._

_"Uh…" Fred began, but Henry cut him off._

_"The guy who stole the band from me?" He groaned. "Ah, call Rip… Yeah."_

_Beary and Fred glanced at each other in amusement. "There's a pay phone over there, Hen. By the driveway," Fred said, pointing over the ex-band manager's shoulder at the large door in the warehouse wall._

_The pepper-furred bear groaned slightly. "All right. All right. You win. I'll call him."_

_Fred and Beary low-fived each other's paw with a grin on both of their faces. Fred led the way to the back of the warehouse, the cub following behind him closely. Henry followed behind the cub, diverting from the group as he went towards the phone, leaving Fred to watch Beary._

_The bassist and the cub glanced at each other awkwardly, unsure of what to say to one another. Fred's snout moved, making him look like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out._

_"Hey, Fred!" Roadie called from behind._

_The Bedderhead, grateful for the distraction, excitedly greeted his old friend and followed him towards the bus, leaving the disappointed cub behind…_

**.~*~.**

_Henry walked back to the bus with a hop in his step. Something told Fred that his call with Rip Holland went well. The bassist watched as Henry and Beary low-fived, both with wide grins on their faces._

_"So, I take it Rip decided to help out?" Roadie asked, smirking._

_"Yup. This Saturday night at eight," Henry replied. "Just in time, too."_

_"Awesome," Beary smiled._

_"Well, let's get loaded up. We have a long way to go if we want to get the others on time," Roadie said, grinning at the cub's excited behavior._

_As they all got into the bus, Henry spoke. "You know, Fred? You were the only one who ever wrote me. Know where any of the other boys are?"_

_"Zeb never gave up the honey. Hangs out in a bar in Nuttville," the former bassist answered._

_"Well, that's our first stop. Let's get going. It's clear across the state." Roadie said as he closed the bus doors. Henry sat up in his armchair while Beary and Fred—feeling bad about ignoring the cub—hung out in the back._

_Beary pulled out a red binder out of his blue backpack and opened it, reading what was inside. Fred peered over the cub's shoulder, curiosity getting the better of him. Page after page, Beary turned, each one containing either an article about the _Bears_ or a collage of pictures of the bear band. "Oh… That's a nice scrapbook, Beary," he complimented._

_"Thanks. I've been working on it forever," the cub answered, turning the next two pages, revealing a picture of Fred with a bunch of lines drawn around him. "I really like this picture," he said, looking directly at it. He then glanced up at Fred. "You used to have a **lot** of fur. Got sloth in your genes?"_

_Fred blushed under his fur as he rubbed the thinning fur on the top of his head, nodding slightly. "Mother's side. Uh… Yeah… Well…" He quickly changed the subject and began talking about the article on the next page. "Oh, look at this one! Winnin' that talent show was our big break."_

_"What's an arm musician?" the cub asked, pointing a claw at the article title._

_"Oh, that's Benny Boggswaggle. He was real talented."_

_"But he was a _**bad**_ loser," Henry cut in from up ahead._

_"He hit Zeb with a chair," Fred went on, his mind filled with the memory of that day…_

**END FLASHBACK**

'_Why didn't any of us put it together before now?_' he wondered. '_Why couldn't we figure out that it was him that took Beary?_'

He pulled onto a country road, leading to the _Hall_. They had a concert tonight to help pay for the medical bills that were piling up. The fans, though helpful, were getting slightly annoyed with hearing the same songs over and over again.

Fred wondered how many fans would be left when this was all over.

They all could only hope that it **_would_** be over soon.

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

"It's Thursday, November 27th. Thanksgiving Day, Beary," the elder bear said quietly. "You've been in a coma since June, kiddo. We miss your laughter and presence at the _Hall_. It is way too quiet there." He chuckled. "Well, during the week, at least. On the weekend, your friend Jewel comes over to visit her parents. Sometimes she even brings along her cousin, Jordan. Things tend to get loud on those days."

Henry sat on an armchair to the right of the hospital bed, where his comatose son lay. The room was dimly lit, the walls appearing as a darker white than they normally did. The room was basically dull except for the few bright splashes of color that came from small pots of bright flowers: Roses, daisies, tulips, etc. A shelf on one wall was lined with numerous get well cards from a variety of people.

On the left side of the bed was an IV pole and bag, along with a heart monitor. The monitor was the only thing proving that the cub's heart still beat while his chest slowly rose, almost as if he was in a deep sleep. Which, in a way, was true. But this was a "sleep" that no one knew if he would wake up from.

To the left was the respirator, which led to the mask over the cub's snout. From the mask went a small tube down the boy's throat, helping him breathe easier. Renee Daka had said that at this point, his body had grown so weak that he couldn't breathe on his own, which was why he was on life support.

Beary was still thin. Thinner than he should be. With him still a coma, he was only able to be fed through a feeding tube. Even then, he wasn't able to gain much weight with the minimal amounts he could be fed.

The cub's arms rested limply at his sides, no sign of life in them. His eyes remained as closed as they had been on the day he had been found.

Henry Dixon Taylor gently squeezed his son's paw as a tear rolled down his cheek fur. For so long, he had been forced to deny the fact that his son was indeed alive, just to make sure he **_stayed_** that way.

Adam had somehow figured out that Helen had been pregnant. No one had any idea how he found out. The only other people that had known that she was pregnant was the band, Tasha and James, Roadie, and Big Al. Along with Henry and Helen's respected grandparents. Helen's twin brother, Jacob—who had known—had been killed in a hit-and-run shortly after the _Country Bears_ had broken up—before Beary had been born. At first, Helen and Henry thought that Adam had had something to do with Jacob Hathworth's death, but it was never proven. The driver had never been found; the car had, though, abandoned in a ditch off the highway almost a hundred miles away from the "accident". There had been no fingerprints, no hair, nothing.

But… What if it had been Jacob by accident? What if he had mentioned it to somebody by mistake? It was a possibility, no matter how much he didn't want it to be. But none of that mattered now. Both Jacob and Adam were dead. And so was Helen.

He might as well be blaming himself…

Henry knew that the _Bears_ would never tell anyone, aside from Trixie, who had told her sister and brother-in-law. In fact, Trixie had written to Helen and Henry what must've been shortly after Jewel's birth. That was what had given the couple the idea that Helen should go to Tasha and James to give birth to the cub.

He closed his eyes as his mind drifted into the past…

**FLASHBACK**

_His heart pounded in his chest as he walked towards the cabin. This would be the first time he would meet his cub and he was just a **bit** anxious._

_"Relax, Hen," Big Al said, placing a gray hand on his brother-in-law's shoulder as they walked. "Helen said the cub was perfectly healthy."_

_"I know that, but I can't help but worry. The cub was born almost a month late. I may not know a lot about infants, but I do know that late births are **not** good." The pepper-furred bear hesitated right outside of the cabin door. "And… after what happened to Trista…"_

_"Her death was unfortunate, but that's in the past. There was nothing anyone could have done. This child, however, is strong and healthy, according to Helen. Now, get going!" Big Al watched him for a moment before chuckling at the new father's actions, reached past him and knocked on the door._

_"Al!" Henry complained, breaking off as the door opened, revealing a weary-looking Helen, who was holding a milk bottle in one paw. She wore a simple red top and jeans. The top brought out her forest green eyes magnificently. Her eyes immediately lit up upon seeing her husband._

_It only took a few moments before the mates embraced and shared a kiss._

_Al looked away before grinning. "Oh, get a room!"_

_They ignored him. The only thing that made them break apart came a few minutes later and that was a loud wail._

_Henry's eyes widened and he looked through the doorway. "Is that…?"_

_Helen grinned softly. "Henry, would you like to meet your son?"_

_No words came out of his mouth as his mate led him and Al into the cabin, following the sound of the wails. His heart raced a mile a minute while adrenalin pumped quickly through his bloodstreams. A son… He had a son. One he could raise from birth instead of from adolescence. Not that he wasn't ashamed of raising Zeb. It just wasn't the same._

_They came to a stop outside of an open door. Helen turned and handed Henry the bottle. "I'll bring him out," she said before turning and walking into the room. She returned a few moments later with a tiny, blue bundle cradled in her arms. With a smile, she carefully handed her load to her mate's waiting arms._

_A single tear rolled down the new father's cheek fur as he held his son for the first time. Looking at the tiny cub's almost pure white face, he could immediately tell that the infant took after his mother in the looks department. Two small, light brown—almost golden—arms reached up as the tiny snout opened letting out a piercing wail. His gummy mouth made him look absolutely adorable._

_"I think he's hungry, Hen," Helen chuckled, smiling at the scene before her._

_"Huh? Oh, right…" Holding his son carefully in one arm, he lifted the bottle of mild with the other one and brought the bottle nipple to the cub's tiny snout._

_The wailing ceased as the cub began to suck on the nipple, drinking the warm milk. If only his eyes would open… but they and his ears would be closed for a few more weeks._

_"You know, it would be easier to feed him if you were sitting on the rocking chair," Helen suggested, gesturing towards the living room._

_Henry barely heard her as she and Al led him to the room and sat him down on the large, green, wooden rocking chair. As he rocked back and forth, he finally spoke. "What's his name?"_

_"Beary. Beary Henry Taylor."_

_He looked up, confused. "Beary?"_

_"I think it's cute. And… it will help him remember that he really is…"_

_"I know." The thirty-nine-year-old smiled softly. "I like it. Somehow it just works." He looked down as his little son and softly spoke. "Hi, Beary. I'm your daddy…"_

**_.~*~._**

_The one-and-a-half-year-old running around the front room was the first thing Henry saw when he opened the front door of the cabin. The cub was wearing just a pair of jean shorts, nothing else._

_The young cub spotted his father and let out a happy cry. "Papa!" He ran towards the pepper-furred bear, stumbling slightly in his excitement._

_Once he had put the fresh groceries down, Henry, grinning, got down on one knee and picked up his son and stood, holding the male Helen look-alike in one arm while tickling him with the other. "Hello, Beary," he chuckled as the cub squealed in delight and tried to get away._

_Another peal of laughter caught Henry's attention, causing him to look in the direction of the kitchen, where he saw Helen standing next to the counter with a blue apron on and a mixing bowl held in the crook of her right arm._

_"Thank the gods you're here! I was about to go crazy with his running around!" she exclaimed with a grin. She set the mixing bowl on the counter and walked over towards her mate and cub, embracing them. "But I guess that's what I get when **you're** the father. He got his hyper activity from you, I'm sure of it," she added with a sparkle in her eyes, showing that she was kidding._

_Henry grinned and kissed her on the cheek. "Sorry it took so long, dear," he apologized. "Things have been a little… **hectic** on my end." It had been almost a month since the family had seen each other. They hadn't been able to talk, since there were no phones at the cabin. At least this time it looked like the food at the cabin had lasted, unlike last time when it had run low and Helen was basically starving herself and giving their growing child her bits of food._

_"I know, Henry. I understand." They broke apart and Henry lowered Beary to the floor. The cub led his father to the rocking chair and Henry sat._

_As Beary brought up various scribbling for his father to look at, Helen asked what had been going on in the world._

_"Not much, actually. Al still won't let anyone on _**his**_ grass." Henry chuckled as his son attempted to get his attention by climbing on top of him and holding a pen scribbling in front of his father's face. "Yes, Beary. That's very nice."_

_"I think it would be best to talk later, Hen. Our little bundle of energy is excited to see his father and show him what he's been up too," the light brown she-bear laughed as she went back to mixing. "Dinner will be ready soon."_

_"Gotcha," Henry agreed as he stood and allowed himself to be led away by his young son._

_Beary practically ran—Henry briefly wondered when he had begun running—down the hallway, entering a door on the opposite side of the door that led to master bedroom. Henry knew the room belonged to the small cub—who was still small compared to the other cubs his age—and smiled upon entering it._

_In one corner of the small room was Beary's crib, the bar on the side was raised. A small window rested within the back wall. In the opposite corner was a dresser. In another corner was a small pile of stuffed animals. He walked over to it and picked up a black teddy bear with a light face and a tan jacket. He brought it over to his father and gave it to him. "Ded," he said._

_"Yes, Beary, **T**ed."_

_The cub went back over to the pile and brought over three more teddy bears, one dark brown wearing a pair of jean shorts with a single over-the-shoulder strap; one a normal brown wearing a black vest; and the other auburn with a white vest and a bayou hat. He introduced them as "Fwed", "Denny", and "Zeb"._

_Henry had brought the teddy bears from the Hall the last time he had been out here and had given them to his son as a surprise. Helen had laughed and said that Henry was trying to get his son to recreate the broken apart band. Henry had laughed right along with her and just said, "Maybe". Little did he know back then that was exactly what was going to happen._

**FLASHBACK PAUSED**

Henry smiled as he looked over at his son. "Who would've thought that getting you those toys would've led to all this?" he wondered aloud as his mind drifted back to the past.

**FLASHBACK RESUMED**

_Henry and Beary played with the four teddy bears before Henry suddenly gasped. "Beary, I brought something for you," he said, pulling a cassette out of his green vest pocket. "Where's your player?"_

_The cub giggled excitedly and pointed to a shelf near his crib, where a small black tape player rested. Henry got it and picked it up before sitting back down again. He placed the cassette inside and pressed play. Immediately an upbeat country song began to play._

_Beary laughed loudly as he listened. To get closer to the music, he crawled onto his father's lap and sat down, leaning his head against his father's chest. "Papa, wha it?" he questioned._

_"This is the _Country Bears_, Beary. Just like your teddy bears," Henry explained as he softly sang along._

_Helen watched them gently sway from the doorway with a smile on her face. She waited until the song was over to alert them to her presence. "Dinner's ready, you two." She laughed when they both jumped, startled by her "sudden appearance"._

_"Helen! How long have you been standing there?" Henry questioned, turning off the cassette player and getting up, still carrying his son in his arms._

_"Long enough to know that you're trying to brainwash our son into liking the Country Bears," she replied with a grin. "But I guess I would do the same thing. The Bears were part of our lives for too long to just ignore them. Besides, I think they were good role models… Well, until their falling out… But in the early years at least. But enough about that. Let's go eat."_

**_.~*~._**

_"Happy Birthday, Beary!" Henry and Helen exclaimed as they presented the two-year-old with a brightly wrapped box._

_The cub took the box and tore through the wrapping paper excitedly. Opening the box, his hazel green eyes widened in delight. He pulled out a toy guitar that was brightly colored with reds, greens, yellows, and blues._

_"I wuv it!" he cried, eagerly jumping up and hugging his parents. "Fank you!" Immediately he began to strum the strings and singing along to a song that was playing on the radio, which just happened to be "_Straight to the Heart of Love_" by _The Country Bears_._

_Helen leaned over and whispered in her mate's ear, "Oh, yes. He's going to be a **huge **fan, Henry. Now he's going to be singing those songs every minute of every day. Way to go."_

_"What's so bad about that?"_

_She kissed his nose and smiled. "Absolutely nothing."_

**_.~*~._**

_Henry followed his three-year-old son into his room. Beary had seemed upset about something, but wouldn't tell him about it. Helen was worried, so she followed and stood in the doorway._

_Beary walked over to the stuffed animal pile and dug through it for a few moments before pulling out a stuffed cat. The cat was orange and black. Henry had thought it was kinda ugly—he and Helen had found it up in the attic a few months ago and had been planning to throw it out, but then Beary spotted it—but Beary absolutely adored it and named her "Kitty", but pronounced it as "Kiddy"._

_"Kiddy!" the cub cried as he held out the raggedy feline to his dad. "Huwt!"_

_Henry took the cat and examined her. There were a few tears in the fabric where the stuffing leaked through. At one time, they had attempted to fix the cat, only to be screamed at when Beary thought they were going to get rid of his favorite toy. They didn't try again._

_The former black fur had turned to a semi-dark gray and the orange had become much lighter with age. Neither Henry nor Helen had any idea how long the stuffed cat had been up there—probably since Henry's grandparents had lived at the cabin._

_"I see Kitty, Beary. Is there something wrong with her?" Henry asked, silently adding as he looked at all the tears, _'Besides the obvious._'_

_Beary pointed a small paw at one of the bigger tears in the old fabric. "Booboo," he whimpered._

_Henry studied the small cat carefully, shocked at how bad the tear was. It was on the front of the neck; if Henry were to tip Kitty over, the head would flop over onto her back. He could clearly see why his son was so upset. No bear would be able to fix this. The fabric was too delicate. Only a human could fix this. And he knew the perfect human who knew of Beary's birth and lived at the Hall, not to mention he could sew._

_"Tell you what, I'll take her with me and fix her. When she's all better, I'll bring her back to you," he said with a smile._

_The cub grinned and hugged his father. "Fank you, Daddy!"_

**_.~*~._**

_"I really appreciate what you did, Roadie," Henry said as he took the newly repaired Kitty from the former drummer._

_Roadie grinned. He wore a leather jacket over a blue t-shirt and blue jeans. "Anything for the lil' guy, Henry. You know that."_

_Henry began walking towards his corvette, only to freeze when a lone police car drove up and parked._

_Roadie and Big Al walked over to the bear, just as confused as he was. Together, the three watched as two people—one human, the other a bear—got out of the squad car and slowly made their way to the small group._

_"My name is Officer Hart. This is my partner, Officer Luftnagle. Which one of you is Henry Dixon Taylor?" the male human asked._

_Henry stepped forward. "I-I'm Henry," he said hesitantly._

_The female bear—Officer Luftnagle—stepped forward. "Sir, perhaps there's a place we can talk?" She eyed the other two. "Alone, preferably?"_

_"This is my brother-in-law Albert Williams Hathworth and my best friend, Roa- I mean, John "Roadie" Matthews," Henry said._

_Officer Hart looked at Al. "You're related to Helen Taylor?" he asked suspiciously. "You look nothing alike."_

_"Adopted brother," Henry added. "What is this about?" He unconsciously gripped Kitty tighter in his paw._

_"When was the last time you saw your wife, Mr. Taylor?" Luftnagle asked._

_The pepper-furred bear's heart froze. He knew he had to answer honestly. He also knew that he was going to be in major trouble for it as well. "T-Two days ago."_

_"Really. You gave a report three years ago that your wife was missing. Was that information false?"_

_"It was the only choice he had!" Roadie interrupted._

_"Excuse me? Care to explain?"_

_"Some psycho was after Helen and Beary. So, we hid them. Hell, they even hid Beary's birth!" Roadie explained. "Telling the police that she was missing was a plan to hopefully through the bastard off their trail."_

_"You could've alerted the police to this **plan**," Hart complained._

_"Please, what happened to Helen?"_

_Luftnagle sighed. "She's dead. I'm sorry."_

_The words didn't seem to be real. Helen? Dead? It couldn't be real… She was a fighter! How could this have happened?!_

_"H-How…?"_

_"She was… shot from behind and drowned."_

_Kitty fell from Henry's paw as the elder bear fell hard to his knees. _

_"Your son has been taken somewhere safe by another family who found him and took him in. We're goi-"_

_"No," the widower interrupted. Somehow, he managed to keep his face calm despite the tears that ran down his cheek fur. "Keep him there. It's the only safe place for him until you catch Adam."_

_"Adam?" Hart questioned. "You know this person?"_

_"Adam Jackson. I've known him for a long time. We u-used to be fr-friends…" It was then that the bear finally broke down in sobs, crouched over on the ground… He screamed in pain and heartbreak at the loss of his beloved wife. He was completely and utterly lost._

**END FLASHBACK**

The door opening pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Mr. Taylor?" the voice of Dr. Daka questioned. "May I come in?"

"You're the doctor. You tell me."

The female chuckled and walked in. Her platinum blond hair was tied back in two, low, long pony tails. Her blue eyes sparkled with an excitement that knew no bounds. "Well, I wanted to tell you when you were all together, but I just can't wait any longer. And, since you are Beary's biological father, it's only fair that you know first," she said, grinning broadly.

The elderly bear's heart quickened. "Please, tell me," he said, his voice barely hiding his anxious tone.

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

As everyone sat around the long table, Henry avoided each person's gaze. He had an announcement to share, but he was waiting for just the right moment.

The long table was covered with an assortment of foods, graciously cooked by Allison, Tasha, Jewel, and Trixie St. Claire. There were mashed potatoes with brown gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, turkey, fish, mushrooms, mixed berries, baked carrots, hot rolls, mince meat pie, dressing, coffee, milk, and water. Fifteen chairs surrounded the long table.

Henry sat at the head of the table, the human Barringtons sat at his right, followed by the Stones, Trixie, Jewel, Tennessee, Zeb, Ted, Fred, Roadie, and Big Al finished next to Henry on his left. Each person wore their Sunday best; even _Dex_ managed to not wear a Hawaiian-like shirt and jeans. He still wore the jeans, but he wore a nicer shirt.

As everyone in turn—starting with Allison and going on clockwise—said one thing they were thankful for, Henry tuned them out and mentally rehearsed what he was going to say. Oh, how would he say it? Would he go for the good news, bad news approach? The guess what? Gah! He didn't know!

Finally, the time came.

Taking a deep breath, he blinked and spoke carefully. "What I'm thankful for is quite simple and can be broken down into three things."

"That don't sound simple at all," Zeb commented. Ted elbowed him in the ribs, causing the fiddler to glare at the older bear. Chuckles were heard around the table.

Henry cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "As I was saying. One: I'm thankful for Allison and Norbert who took in a cub that was not their own but raised him as if he were their own flesh and blood." The Barrington parents just nodded, tears glistening in their eyes. "Two: I'm thankful for everyone who is gathered here today. We have become one _very_ large family."

"Here, here!" Zeb called out amongst the small cheers that rose from around the table.

Henry grinned. "Finally, I'm thankful for Dr. Daka, who's persistence has finally paid off after many months and she found the antidote that is currently fighting against the poison in Beary's body."

Everyone silently agreed—they had been distracted by Zeb swatting at a fly, missing the last part the older bear had said—and began to fill their plates. Henry just smirked when Jewel, with wide eyes, suddenly dropped the spatula filled with cranberry sauce, splattering Ted with the purple sauce. She had figured it out.

"Hey!" the singer complained as he wiped the sauce from his glasses. "Dang nabbit, glasses always gettin' dirty," he mumbled.

"Jewel! Apologize!" Trixie ordered.

Jewel ignored her mother and just looked at Henry. "Are you serious?" she cried. At his nod, she jumped up and hugged him.

All activity in the room came to a halt as twenty-six pairs of eyes looked at the two in shock and bewilderment.

"Hen, could ya repeat that?" Fred asked.

The pepper-furred bear just continued grinning broadly. "She found the antidote. She told me this morning. She says it's only a matter of time before he wakes."

The room immediately filled with excited yells, laughter, high-fives, and even a few tears of joy.

Soon, very soon, their "family" would be complete again. The nightmare would finally be over.

But, in all their excitement, everyone had forgotten one crucial detail…

Josh Chase was still out there.

And no one knew just how dangerous he **_truly_** was.

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

The man pushed the shopping cart full of what normal people would call junk along the alleyway. He was heading towards his "home", a broken down van at the other end of the alley. Nobody bothered him there. It was out of the way and nobody cared about a hobo like him. So, he just kept to himself.

Tonight had been a good night. He had found all sorts of goodies, as people on the streets called them. He had even found food.

As he neared his van, he spotted a figure leaned against _his_ van. He was about to yell at the man, when he heard him speaking.

"Hey, baby."

Silence.

"No, I'm doing fine. How are you and Benny?"

Silence.

"No, I can't stop now. You know that. You also know that if I fail, Benny's going to have to finish what my father started and I continued, right?"

Silence.

"Has there been any news about the Barrington?"

Silence.

This time, the man's voice was raised. "WHAT? Say that again!"

Silence.

"DAMN IT! HOW THE HELL IS THAT LITTLE BASTARD STILL ALIVE? ADAM'S POISON HAD NO ANTIDOTE!"

The hobo's eyes widened. Every cell in his body told him to turn around and run. To get out of there. So, he began to step backwards and the cart squeaked.

The figure looked at him. "Look, I'm going to have to call you back. I have to deal with an eavesdropper. Love you too. Say goodnight to Benny for me. Keep an eye on our _favorite_ bear cub." He snapped the phone shut and began walking towards the other man. "How much did you hear?" he questioned.

"Enough to know that-" he didn't get a chance to finish before a bullet entered his head.

Josh Chase stood over his new victim with a crazed smile. "Now you'll never be able to say anything to anyone." He pointed the gun at the man's body again and pulled the trigger three more times.

Then, he knelt down and stuck his fingers in the blood and began writing on the nearby wall.

I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE BEARY BARRINGTON... YOU'RE NEXT

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

Lieutenant Remy Hart yawned. He was beyond tired. It had been a very trying week. He had yelled at a couple of rookies earlier that day for no reason other than the fact that he was incredibly stressed. James Stone had told the frightened rookies to avoid the overworked Lieutenant.

He had been made lieutenant a couple of months ago. When he received the promotion, he should've expected the extra workload and the loads of paperwork that came with it.

As he packed up to leave for the night, a frightened rookie—he made a mental note to apologize to the rookies for his behavior in the morning—walked up to him with a file. "Sir, this just came in. I think you should look at this."

Sighing, Hart took the file and flipped through it. "What is it?"

"There's been a killing. This one came with a warning."

"I'll look at it in the morning."

"Sir, this has to do with that Barrington kid."

"Excuse me?" Hart pulled out the picture of the crime scene and loudly swore. He set his bag down next to his desk and sat down heavily in his chair. "Get James. Get him in here _now_!"

With a small yelp, the officer did what he was told.

Hart continued examining the file, this time paying more attention to the words. He jumped slightly when James came in with a worried expression. "James, we need to move the kid. This son of a bitch knows where he is," Hart deadpanned as he handed the picture to his partner. "This was taken in Nashville this morning. A friend there knew that I was on the case, so sent me the file."

"Damn it. It has to be that Josh kid. Why the hell he's doing this is beyond me. But now we know that he means serious business," James growled. "Why is this kid so screwed up?"

"Poor upbringing?" Hart suggested, though his tone suggested that he didn't believe it himself.

"Maybe…" James looked at the file over his partner's shoulder. "Whoa! Definite overkill. He was already dead from the first shot. Why shoot him three more times? This kid really **_is_** psychotic."

"There's no more time no waste. We need to move Beary _now_. We'll alert the others to this change as soon as we can. Any suggestions?"

James thought for a moment. "Pull up the file for Belleview Hospital in Shelbyville."

Hart did so and read the description out loud. "It's a medium-sized hospital on the outskirts of the city. Four floors. Decent staff. It would be easy to set up extra security measures to protect the cub. This… _person_… would think that we would move him to another hospital more in the city where he might be more protected. I don't think he would expect us to move him further out of the city."

"So it's the perfect spot."

"Yes. We move him tonight. I just hope Ms. Daka complies and agrees to go with him."

"Oh, she's determined to see him wake up. She wouldn't leave him. Plus, she has this _touch-my-patient-and-I-will-kill-you_ look in her eyes."

"I would hate to see this bastard meet her. I would almost pity him if it came to that."

Hart chuckled darkly.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

.~*Chapter Nineteen*~.

Beary Barrington had been successfully transferred to the medium-sized hospital on the outskirts of the city with no media coverage. Renee Daka agreed to be transferred to the hospital as well, determined to see that her patient awakened.

The family and extended family of the cub had been horrified when they found out the real reason that the cub had been transferred was because a murderer wanted him dead and knew where he was. James and Hart hadn't discussed the full reason with everyone for fear that they would start a manhunt.

Dex had been absolutely furious at the news. After hearing it, he had stormed out of the house and took off. He wasn't seen for hours. When questioned about where he had been, he refused to answer and practically locked himself in his room for the rest of the night.

While his parents were concerned about his strange behavior—which had really began about a month ago—Dex refused to tell him about it. They had gone to A.J. and asked him if he knew anything about it—they felt horrible about going behind their son's back, but felt as if they had no other choice—but A.J. claimed he knew nothing about it and told them that Dex would tell them in time.

When they asked if it was something like drugs, A.J. had stared at them like they were idiots. He had told them that if they were asking him, Dex's _friend_, this question, then they really didn't know their own son—"No offense," he had added as an afterthought. He had then excused himself and closed the door in their faces. This had just concerned them more and made them more determined to find out the reason as to why their son would disappear for hours on end.

They had already "_lost_" one son. They didn't want to lose another.

Henry had reacted differently and definitely more quietly to the news. He had sat in silence, not meeting anyone's eye. He refused to make any kind of acknowledgement to the statement.

This scared everyone more than anything. They didn't know how much more he would be able to take.

_.~*~._

"Please begin to take your seats, ladies and gentlemen. We would like to begin in five minutes," the principal stated into the microphone, which then screeched with back-feed.

Trixie, Tennessee, James, Tasha, Jordan, Henry, and Dex all covered their ears, as did just about everyone else in the auditorium. The back-feed was immediately cut off as the principal apologized.

"Maybe we should've brought Big Al," Tennessee commented as he took his seat in the back row. The others chuckled; Big Al was the sound and lights guy back at the _Hall_, after all.

"Yeah, he could've fixed the problem in no time flat," Henry grinned.

"Amen to that," Trixie chuckled.

"I'm gonna go set up," Dex called over his shoulder as he walked up the stairs of the mezzanine towards the door that led to the lights and sounds booth. He had gotten special permission to be able to go up there and film the program, provided that he makes a copy of the program for the school.

"All right, Dex!" the others replied.

Dex entered the booth and greeted AJ, who was doing a favor for the middle school. The middle school didn't have a permanent lights and sounds guy, so they looked to their sister school, East High—Dex's and AJ's school—for help. AJ just happened to be the lead guy in the stage crew at the high school, so he volunteered for the job.

Dex was also on the stage crew, but his job was different from the others. He got to record the productions and make DVD copies of them, along with sometimes streaming them on the internet, on this new site called YouTube, which had been created earlier that year. It was a way to advertise the school and bring in new students. At least, that's what the principal said.

The other seventeen-year-old waved at his long-time friend and turned back to the sound board. "Final check up. How is light 15?" he asked into the walkie-talkie as he messed with a switch on the board.

"_Light 15 is good to go,_" a voice answered back from the walkie-talkie.

AJ continued the final check while Dex set up his laptop and camera and prepared to record the performance. Tonight, he wouldn't just be recording for a DVD. Tonight, he was going to be streaming the performance live back to the Hall and hospital—where his parents currently were—so they could see it on the laptops—which also had webcams of their own—he had left behind.

Ted, Fred, Zeb, and Big Al hadn't been able to come, due to Ted, Fred, and Zeb being part of a famous band and they might cause a fan riot, which would **_not_** be a good idea. Though, they were all fairly sure there wouldn't exactly be that many fans here, but one could never be too safe.

Dex aimed his camera at himself and spoke into it. "Can you guys hear me?" He looked down on the monitor as he did the test run of the streaming.

Another face appeared on the top right side of the screen. "_This is Zeb. We can hear you, Dex,_" Zeb Zoober replied, rather loudly.

"Yell a little louder, Zeb. Not all of the audience is looking up here yet," Dex muttered, rubbing his now-aching ears. There was chuckling on the other end of the line. "When we get back, you're getting a lesson on how to use a webcam."

Another face appeared on the bottom left side of the screen. "_Dex, this is your mom. We hear you,_" Allison Barrington said, grinning into the webcam on her end. She and Norbert were more used to the technological advances made, so they knew not to yell.

Dex grinned as he looked at the two incoming video streams. "All right. Just stay silent during the recording, or else the principal's gonna kick my butt for messing up the DVD recording." He knew that they never would be completely quiet, so he pressed the mute button on both of the incoming streams. He then turned the camera away from himself and aimed it directly at the stage, where the principal had appeared once more, and pressed **RECORD**.

"Okay, guys. It's show time!" AJ called out as he dimmed the lights in the auditorium.

Billy Strom, another member of the stage sound crew, aimed the spotlight on the principal from the left while his brother, Bobby, aimed another spotlight from the right. Their sister, AAlexiss, operated the middle spotlight. The three siblings were triplets, and panda bears, for that matter. AAlexiss was the lighter-furred bear with more white fur than black while her brothers both had darker fur, more black than white.

All three of them had blue eyes and all were seniors, graduating after first semester. This would be their last time working with Dex and AJ. They had two younger siblings, twins, however, who were Beary and Jewel's age. Their names were Fiona and Ron, and they were good friends with Beary and Jewel. The twins were going to be in the show.

"Welcome one and all to the East Middle School's Winter Concert!" the principal exclaimed, his voice booming off the walls. The audience applauded appropriately and quieted when he put his arm up. "You're all in for a special treat tonight, as we have got a great line up."

Dex tuned out after that. He had heard this speech several times before, and didn't care to listen to it again. Besides, it was the same speech given year after year. Sitting down on the couch, he whispered to AJ, "Wake me when his long-winded speech is over."

AJ chuckled and nodded, and Dex settled in for a nap.

He was awoken what seemed like seconds later by AJ. "Dude, he's finally done. He changed the darn thing and stated saying something about how much he was gonna miss this school. That was the longest speech I have ever listened to. Fifteen minutes of pure agony."

"Geez," the Barrington teen groaned. "Well, he is retiring in a few days. Guess this is his farewell speech."

"Yeah. But did he-"

"Dex!" Alexis hissed. "Get ready to zoom in!"

Dex, grumbling, got up and moved towards his camera. After that, everything switched into routine. Zoom into the stage when the student acting was going on; zoom out to cover both the stage and the sides for the songs.

Half an hour passed, and the concert was drawing to an end. As the curtain finally closed, the audience stood and clapped loudly as the principal took center stage once more. "Ladies and gentlemen, there was still one more song to be sung. Unfortunately, our soloist developed a sore throat and won't be able to perform. Sorry for this disappointment."

The audience all groaned and began to get up to leave.

A teacher rushed on stage and whispered into the principal's ear. The principal grinned and spoke into the microphone. "Wait! We have just found a back up soloist, and trust me, you won't be disappointed. The teachers and I have heard her ourselves—and those who know me also know that I'm not really a big fan of music—but this child has blown us away and made a fan out of me. The students, however, have not heard her sing this piece before, so it may be a little shaky."

There were a few chuckles and everyone took their seats once more.

"Though she may be missing her singing partner, she is amazing singing alone and I'm sure you will all agree when you hear her. And what none of you will believe is that she is only a sixth grader. Making her solo singing debut singing _All I Want for Christmas_, please welcome Jewel Stone!"

Dex's eyes widened. "What?"

Down in the seats, Tennessee, Trixie, James, Tasha, and Henry all shared surprised glances with one another before looking up at the stage as the principal disappeared. A circle of light remained on the red velvet curtains, which slowly opened, revealing a nervous looking Jewel wearing an ankle-length white dress with a blue, feathery hem. Decorated with sparkling snowflake patterns, and a small glittering tiara upon her head, her outfit combined with her golden fur made her look like an angel. Above her, soft white flakes floated down, making it look like it was snowing onstage.

Someone concerted a couple notes on the xylophone and Jewel raised the microphone to her face and began to sing in a medium tempo as various instruments concerted some random notes together at the end of each sentence.

_I don't want a lot for Christmas  
There's just one thing I need  
I don't care about the presents  
Underneath the Christmas tree_

_I just want you for my own  
More than you could ever know  
Make my wish come true…_

_All I want for Christmas  
Is you…_

Jingle bells were heard, along with the piano concerting the same chord several times in a row as the drum became more apparent. The audience began clapping in time with the drum's tempo.

The students sang back-up, singing softly as Jewel went on, the tempo going much faster.

_I don't want a lot for Christmas  
There's just one thing I need  
I don't care about the presents  
Underneath the Christmas tree_

_I don't need to hang my stocking  
There upon the fireplace  
Santa Claus won't make me happy  
With a toy on Christmas Day_

_I just want you for my own  
More than you could ever know  
Make my wish come true_

_All I want for Christmas is you…  
You baby_

By this time, the audience was standing and clapping along with the beat. Trixie, Tennessee and the others were all grinning as they watched the cub move around on the stage, singing the pop song.

_I won't ask for much this Christmas  
I won't even wish for snow  
I'm just gonna keep on waiting  
Underneath the mistletoe_

_I won't make a list and send it  
To the North Pole for Saint Nick  
I won't even stay awake to  
Hear those magic reindeer click_

_Cause I just want you here tonight  
Holding on to me so tight  
What more can I do?  
Baby, all I want for Christmas is you_

_You_

Trixie had tears falling down her cheeks as she listened to her daughter sing like an angel. She had a feeling that she knew why exactly Jewel had volunteered to sing this particular song.

_All the lights are shining  
So brightly everywhere  
And the sound of children's  
Laughter fills the air_

_And everyone is singing  
I hear those sleigh bells ringing  
Santa, won't you bring me the one I really need  
Won't you please bring my baby to me…_

_Oh, I don't want a lot for Christmas  
This is all I'm asking for  
I just want to see my baby  
Standing right outside my door_

_"Oh, I just want him for my own  
More than you could ever know  
Make my wish come true  
Baby, all I want for Christ-mas is_

_You_

The audience clapped even louder than before as Jewel hit the high note on her last word and had it last for so long. The clapping practically drowned out the rest of the singing. Once the song was over, and the curtain closed, the cheers and clapping filled the auditorium to the brim.

The students who stood on the risers all bowed. The stage curtains opened once more and the solo and duet of the concert—with Jewel standing in the middle—all stepped forward and bowed, earning the loudest applause of all.

Jewel was grinning broadly as they bowed again. '_I wish you were here, Beary_,' she mentally whispered.

For a moment, she thought she heard his voice answer her by saying that he was always there. She shook off the feeling and exited stage right. Backstage, her classmates stared at her in awe, causing her to blush underneath her golden fur.

The panda twins, Fiona and Ron, looked at her in amazement. "Jewel," Fiona began.

"That was," Ron went on.

"Awesome!" Fiona finished.

The twins loved to finish each other's sentences, sometimes even switching between each other during sentences. It was rather confusing, but at the same time, highly amusing.

"Thanks," the golden she-cub muttered as she brushed a lock of her medium-length golden fur out of her eyes with one of her claws.

"I had-"

"No idea-"

"That you-"

"Could sing-"

"Like that!"

Jewel raised an eyebrow, confused as to who was talking this time. It seemed like everyone was talking at once. She was suddenly surrounded by the other students that had been onstage and some of the stage crew.

"Jewel!"

The she-cub looked up and saw Dex standing on a steel catwalk almost twenty-five feet above her. She looked around and saw the ladder that led to the catwalk. Breaking through the crowd of people, she ran over to the ladder and climbed, using her teeth to hold her dress up in the front so she wouldn't rip it.

Dex was laughing as he watched the she-cub escape them. As she reached the top of the ladder, he helped pull her safely onto the walkway. "Geez, Jewel. It would seem that you have some fans."

"Shut up, Dex."

He laughed even harder and turned, gesturing for her to follow him. "Come on, I'll take you to the booth. You can talk to the others on the webcam. Once the other people have dissipated somewhat, you can go down the stairs to your parents."

"Thanks, Dex, for-"

"Rescuing you from your fans?"

The she-cub glared at his back.

AJ was laughing when the duo walked into the booth. He, Alexis, Bobby, and Billy started clapping, much to Jewel's embarrassment.

"Don't you guys start," Jewel groaned as she plopped down on the couch.

"Yeah, she just escaped from her other fans," Dex chuckled as he went over to the camera and turned it off. He then turned on his webcam and looked directly into it. Pulling on the headset, he spoke. "Did you guys like Jewel's little surprise?" His expression turned to amusement. "Guys? Hello?" He started laughing and got up, bringing the laptop with him. Setting it in front of Jewel on top of a small table AJ brought over, and handed Jewel the headset.

She put it on and looked at the screen in amusement. The faces peering back at here all had dropped jaws and wide eyes. "Uh, hi, guys."

Both parties continued staring at her blankly.

She frowned and looked to Dex for help. He grinned and held out his hands for the headset. "You might want to cover your ears."

"What are you-" She stopped talking when she saw him pull an air horn—she didn't want to know why he had that in the first place—from his bag and aimed it at the microphone. Everyone in the booth quickly covered their ears as Dex pushed the button. Jewel grinned as everyone on the screens jumped a foot in the air. She started laughing at their surprised and slightly angry expressions.

She took the headset from her friend—more like an older brother now [they had all grown a lot closer over the past few months]—and put it back on. "Sorry. Dex did it."

"What on earth was that?" Zeb complained, rubbing his ears with his paws. "That hurt!"

"Uh… It was an air horn," the she-cub replied sheepishly.

"Tell Dex that he's in a lot of trouble when we get home," Allison Barrington said.

Jewel looked at her laughing "older brother" and grinned. "Your mom says that you're in a lot of trouble when they get home."

"It was **_so _**worth it," Dex replied.

Jewel laughed and looked back at the screen. Seven faces peered back at her with amused and amazed looks.

"You are **_definitely_** Trixie and Tennessee's cub, Jewel St. Claire," Ted grinned.

AJ looked at Dex in confusion. "I thought her last name was Stone."

"Actually, it turns out that the Stones are her aunt, uncle, and cousin. Her real parents are Trixie St. Claire and Tennessee O'Neal," Dex replied. "Not only that, but we found out who Beary's real father is."

"Oh, really? And when exactly were you going to tell your best friend?"

The grin left Dex's face and he looked down. Instead of answering, he walked out of the booth, going through the door that he and Jewel had entered earlier. AJ quickly followed him.

Jewel watched them go for a moment before looking back at the screen and talking to her surrogate family.

_.~*~._

AJ found Dex sitting by one of the lights on the wooden catwalk. One leg was stretched out in front of him while the other was bent. He leaned against the wall at the end of the catwalk and looked down through one of the pane-less windows that the stage lights were aimed through, and watched as the crowd dispersed and students greeted their families.

"Dex, man, whatever I said to upset you, I'm sorry," the blonde haired, blue eyed teen said as he squatted down next to his friend, his behind resting on his heels.

"No, it's nothing you said. It's just… Well, I wasn't going to tell you who Beary's real father is until he woke… otherwise it wouldn't matter. There would be no point in explaining it if Beary…"

AJ reached out and touched his best friend's shoulder. "Hey, don't sweat it. I've met your brother, remember? I know how much of a fighter he can be when the time comes for him to be. Trust me, he's going to wake soon. And, if I know him as well as I think I do, I know that he's going to wake in a strange way and probably scare the crap out of whoever's with him."

This statement caused Dex to grin before he started laughing. "Now that," he managed to say between laughs, "is one hell of a mental image."

AJ joined in on the laughter, glad that he had cheered his friend up. He held his hand out and, when Dex gripped it, hauled his friend up so that he was standing upright. "So, when are you going to tell your parents that you have a girlfriend? I don't want them to come back over to my house again and ask if you're doing drugs. Man that was awkward."

Dex blushed slightly and grinned broadly. AJ had told him about that afternoon when his parents had come asking questions. Needless to say, he had had a good laugh at AJ's expense. Unfortunately, however funny the situation had been, he still felt bad that his parents didn't trust him enough to ask what he was doing and that they had gone behind his back and asked his _best **friend**_ if he was doing something stupid like **_drugs_**. He still couldn't believe that that was what they thought he was doing.

"Come on, dude. Let's meet back up with Jewel. Looks like the crowd beneath us dispersing. Jewel's parents are looking for her."

Dex looked out the "window" nearest him and grinned. He could see Trixie and Tennessee looking around for their "missing" cub, and it amused him to no end. He knelt and leaned his head out the window. "Psst! Up here!"

The golden she-bear and brown-furred male bear both looked up at the same time and grinned as the human teen waved.

Dex pulled his head back in and stood back up. "All right, let's go get her. It's getting late and we have school in the morning."

AJ looked at him, surprised. "You? Concerned about getting up for _school_? **_Unreal_**!"

Dex, now frowning, smacked him upside the head. "Shut up."

"Touchy, touchy," his friend grinned.

"Let's just get going before I throttle you."

They walked back up the catwalk towards the sound booth door and entered.

Jewel looked up at them. She had been resting on the couch with the headset resting on the laptop. The laptop was in "sleep mode" and the screen was blank. "We ended the chat a couple minutes ago. There were some "technical difficulties", as Uncle Zeb put it."

Dex groaned. "Please tell me he didn't break it."

She shrugged and folded her arms behind her head. "The others didn't let him go near the laptop. I think the problem was on our end. The chat just suddenly ended without any warning."

Dex sat down next to her and pulled the laptop closer. His fingers flew over the keyboard as he typed quickly and numerous windows popped up.

There were two things that Dex never shared with his parents: One, he had a steady girlfriend; second, he was a hacker. Not in the big leagues, mind you, but not an amateur, either. He had been in the "business" for a few years and had found it to be quite fun. However, he had always been careful to make sure that his parents never found out. Beary was a lost cause—he already knew and, of course, had told Jewel.

As he checked out the system, he frowned and began to type faster. "Someone's hacking my computer," he growled. "And they still are!"

By now, AJ, Alexis, Billy, and Bobby had gathered around Dex and Jewel, their curiosities getting the better of them, as they watched the hacker work. Everyone in the room knew of Dex's hacking skills, and—even though he denied it—said that he was a master.

Dex spoke a few choice swear words and continued typing. Without looking up, he spoke again. "AJ, my cell is in my bag. Call Mom and Dad. Tell them to shut down the laptop immediately and unplug it. Then call the band. Hurry! This son of a bitch can access their computers from this one and I have a feeling that I know what they're after."

AJ nodded and did what he was told.

Dex then spoke again. "Jewel, go on down and meet with your parents. I can get a ride home with AJ. We'll leave just as soon as I get rid of this son of a-"

"Dex, man, your parents want to talk to you," AJ interrupted.

"Tell them I'm busy."

AJ repeated that into the phone and winced at the reply. "Uh, Dex, they sound kinda pissed."

"I can't talk! Did they shut down the computer or not?"

AJ asked his best friend's parents and waited a moment or two. "Yeah, they just did."

"Good, now hang up and get a hold of the band. Make sure they turn their compu- Wait." The hacker stopped typing and looked at the screen in confusion. "He stopped?" He looked at the others. "This means either one of two things: He got what he wanted or he just stopped."

"Can you find out?" Alexis asked.

Dex shook his head. "No. It's impossible. I can't even back trace the signal. It's gone."

Bobby sighed. "No use worrying about it now. We have semester tests tomorrow. Let's all go home."

Dex sighed and nodded. He closed his laptop—shutting it down, first—and stood. Quickly putting it away, he gathered his stuff and prepared to leave. "Come on, Jewel. Your parents are wondering where you are."

The she-cub nodded and stood. "Let's go home."

AJ looked at them. "Uh, Dex, your parents are still on the phone."

The teen took the cell phone from him and spoke. "Everything's okay. Yeah. We're on our way home. See you there. Night. Bye." He closed the phone and put it in his pocket. He then began walking towards the door that led to the mezzanine, and the others followed him.

As they reached the halfway point down the stairs, Dex grinned when he saw the group of bears waiting at the bottom. He moved over to one of the rows of seats and allowed Jewel to pass by him as she raced to her parents arms.

To everyone's surprise, Tennessee picked her up underneath the arms and swung her around, causing her and everyone else to laugh, before he brought her in close for a giant bear hug. "You, Jewel, are _definitely_ Trixie's daughter."

"I'm _your_ daughter as well, Dad," the she-cub answered.

Alexis, Bobby, and Billy left then while AJ and Dex pulled James aside and told him about the mysterious hacker, careful to not fully reveal Dex's hacking skills, keeping them seemingly mediocre. Once finished, they both headed out to their cars and returned to their separate homes.

James joined his wife, cub, and sister-in-law and complimented the golden she-cub. He took Jordan from his mother's arms—the small cub had fallen asleep while they had been waiting for Jewel to appear—and announced that they were heading home. "Drop her off when you're finished talking. We have to get Jordan home and to bed. Just don't stay out to long. She still has school in the morning."

"We'll bring her along in a little bit," Trixie replied. "We'll grab a bite to eat beforehand."

Henry watched as the family of black bears left and felt a familiar pain in his heart. Every time he saw a family like that, he couldn't help but feel slightly envious that they got to have the family that he had been so cruelly robbed of so long ago. He leaned against a stone wall and watched the other family talk and laugh, and felt the same pain.

This family had only been completed a few months ago, brought together by tragedy, but already they acted like they had known about each other for years. Ironically, two of them didn't even know that they were family and the other had been hiding it from them for many years. If they could manage to be reunited as a family, then would he and Beary become one? Or would things be forever strained with them?

"Hey, Henry? You comin'?" Tennessee asked, drawing the elder bear out of his thoughts.

Henry looked at him in confusion before realizing what the brown bear was talking about. "Nah. I'm gonna head on back." Besides, he didn't really want to intrude on their outing.

"You sure?" Jewel asked, looking at him with her unique eyes.

"Yeah, kiddo. It's okay." He turned and began to walk away, but a small paw on his arm stopped him. He turned and saw a very determined Jewel looking back up at him.

"I want you to come. You need to eat," the she-cub stated, pulling the older bear back towards her parents.

"Well, I guess I can, if you insist."

"Good." She looked at her parents, who were both grinning at the situation. "So, where are we going to eat?"


	21. Chapter Twenty

.~*Chapter Twenty*~.

It was Christmas Eve. The time was 9:50 p.m. Outside the Belleview Hospital, heavy snow fell from an overcast sky. The thick flakes had clumped together, making the snow crusty and deep—already a foot, the most seen in the state of Tennessee in a long time.

She entered the room with only ten minutes left until visiting hours were over for the night.

Her soft golden fur was thick and full for the winter season. She had grown almost two inches since this entire ordeal began back in May. Daka had said that though Beary was in a coma, he would've grown as well, but it was unlikely since he hadn't responded thus far.

Walking over to the bed, she pulled off her green overcoat—revealing a dark sweater with red and green holly for the season and jeans—and draped it over a chair. She stood next to the bed. "Hey, Beary," the eleven-year-old she-cub softly said as she brushed a strand of her medium-length golden auburn locks out of her face. She had been growing out her hair for a while.

Her forest green eyes were troubled and filled with sorrow, but if someone were to look closely at them, they would see a small glimpse of hope still within them. But that hope was fading every day. "Merry Christmas." Hesitantly, she reached out, gently gripped her best friend's paw, and squeezed. Then, she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Beary's paw didn't squeeze back.

It never did, no matter how many times she tried. It never worked.

Jewel sighed. A **_huge_** part of her had hoped that he would finally respond. That he would wake up at last.

Dr. Daka had told them a few days ago that the antidote may have been given to Beary too late. If the cub didn't respond within a few days—Christmas Day being the last—he would **_never_** respond and they would have to pull the plug. It was better than letting him stay alive only because of machines. He needed to rest in peace.

Henry and the Barringtons, however unwilling, were forced to agree.

In other words, let him **_die_**.

Take Jewel's best friend away from her **_forever_**.

Jewel wasn't even supposed to have heard about it. It was an accident.

**FLASHBACK**

_Jewel walked towards the _Hall_, smiling brightly. She was going to be able to visit the still-comatose Beary today and she couldn't wait. Plus, she got to visit her parents for Winter break. She had taken the presents she had gotten everyone over to her and her mother's cabin and had hidden them in her room. After that, she had headed over to the _Hall_, briefly wondering why nobody was around._

_"What do you mean you agreed?"_

_The familiar voice of her Uncle Zeb shouting startled the she-cub. She came to a halt just outside of the main door and stood still, listening in on the conversation. She knew she shouldn't be doing that, but she just couldn't resist. Sometimes it was fun to listen in on their conversations._

_"There's no other choice. He wouldn't want to be kept alive with machines. It would just be cruel and selfish of us to keep him like this," the voice of Henry spoke wearily._

_"There's been no change in the brain activity. I have talked with the other head doctors and they agree. There's nothing more we can do. He's gone."_

_Jewel recognized the last voice as the feminine voice of Dr. Renee Daka. _'What is she doing here?_' she wondered. _'Who are they talking abo-_' Her thought was cut off by her father's voice._

_"So what? It doesn't mean that he won't respond eventually!" Tennessee's exclaimed, his tone full of anger._

_"You can't just _**kill**_ him!" Trixie growled._

_"You don't think that this is hard on all of us? You don't think we care?"_

_Jewel had _**never**_ heard Mrs. Barrington shout. It startled her and nearly made her fall back in surprise. Slowly, realization began to dawn on her. She knew who they were talking about. Why didn't she figure it out earlier? She brought a paw to her snout, muffling her pained cry._

_Mrs. Barrington's outburst must've startled everyone in the room, because if fell silent. It was a few minutes later that Fred's voice was heard._

_"How long?" he asked softly._

_There was a sigh, then Henry's pain-filled voice was heard. "Christmas."_

_Jewel couldn't listen to any more. Tears filling her eyes, she backed away and began to run from the building. She kept running through the six inch deep snow until she reached the barn. Throwing open the large door, she ran inside—_

_And let out a startled cry when she ran into something large and soft. She fell back and looked up with teary eyes._

_Big Al looked down at the golden cub in surprise. "Jewel?" he questioned._

_She didn't know what made her do it as she got up and wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his gray fur._

_Though he was surprised, he returned the hug, gently rubbing her back as she continued to cry._

_Her parents came running in shortly after that. Upon seeing their sobbing cub, they knew that she had heard everything. They walked towards her as everyone else watched from the doorway. They all knew why she was crying. They hadn't expected her to overhear. They wouldn't have even **known** that she was out there if Tasha hadn't walked into the _Hall_ and demanded to know what they had said to upset her niece._

_"Jewel? Honey, come here," Trixie softly pleaded._

_Jewel answered her mother's pleads and ran to her parents' arms. "It's not fair! He didn't ask for **any **of this!"_

_Trixie smoothed out her daughter's bangs, gently soothing her. "I know, baby. I know," she whispered, sharing a meaningful glance with the others at the door._

_Tennessee wrapped his arms around his daughter as well, echoing his girlfriend's words._

_"Please don't kill my best friend! Please!" she begged…_

**END FLASHBACK**

Fresh tears fell down her cheeks from the haunting memory. "Oh, gods, Beary… You **have** to wake up… If you don't… You'll never wake up again…"

Still, there was no response.

Softly, she began to sing, hoping beyond hope that this would finally wake up her best friend. Her _brother_.

_If I tell you  
Will you listen?  
Will you stay?  
Will you be here forever?  
Never go away?_

_Never thought things would change  
Hold me tight  
Please don't say again  
That you have to go_

_A bitter thought  
I had it all  
But I just let it go_

_Oh, this silence  
It's so violent  
Since you`re gone_

_All my thoughts are with you forever  
Until the day we'll be back together  
I will be waiting for you_

_If I had told you  
You would have listened  
You had stayed  
You would be here forever  
Never went away_

_It would never have been the same  
All our time  
Would have been in vain  
Cause you had to go_

_The sweetest thought  
I had it all  
Cause I did let you go_

_All our moments  
Keep me warm  
When you're gone_

_All my thoughts are with you forever  
Until the day we'll be back together  
I will be waiting for you._

Through her tears, Jewel noticed that Beary was on the far side of the bed. There was enough space on the right side of the bed that another person could also lay on it if they so chose to do so. An idea came to her head and slowly, she crawled onto the bed and lay on her side. Since the small tube for the IV entered Beary's left arm, Jewel wrapped her arms around Beary's right arm and buried her snout on his shoulder. Then, she quietly cried herself to sleep, not feeling the small twitch that the supposedly still arm gave.

_.~*~._

Renee Daka smiled as she took in the scene before her. She had come to room 333 to tell the young she-cub, Jewel, that visiting hours were over for the night. When she had opened the door, she hadn't expected to see Jewel lying on the bed next to the other cub, sleeping peacefully.

"That's so cute!" she quietly squealed. She knew she should go wake the she-cub up, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. It would just be cruel, considering that this… '_No_,' she ordered herself. '_Don't think about that. Not now. It's bad enough that…_' She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She made her mind fill with the image of the sleeping cubs.

She silently shut the door and made her way to the waiting room, where the other members of the group were located, still smiling. Opening the door, she was met with confused looks, along with some concerned expressions.

"Where's Jewel?" Trixie asked, starting to get up. She wore a coat similar to her daughter's; however it had little Christmas trees on the light red fabric. The others in the room wore similar holiday outfits. Tennessee, of course, wore a sweater—he had a thing for sweaters, no matter how ugly they were, a fact that Trixie sort of despised.

Renee just chuckled. "You have to see this. I've never seen anything like it. It's simply adorable."

With slightly amused expressions, everyone got up and followed her out of the room and down the hallway. They all stopped outside of Beary's room and crowded around the door as Renee quietly opened it, revealing the adorable scene within.

The sight of the two cubs lying next to each other brought a strange _peacefulness_ on the assembled group. It was just an innocent scene that brought tears to some of their eyes.

The past few days had been hard on all of them; how couldn't it be with all that's been going on? All their hearts had shattered when Daka had told them that there was no more hope left. This scene before them brought a little of that hope back to life.

"It would be a shame to wake her, you know. I have the night shift, so I can keep an eye on her," Renee said, looking at the sleeping cubs with a soft smile. "It wouldn't be any trouble." She didn't feel the need to report that she would get in huge trouble for doing so.

"It _would_ be a lot smarter," Trixie said, glancing at Tennessee with a small smirk. "And you **_never_** want to wake a cub. Especially if said cub's father is one Tennessee O'Neal."

This got a chuckle out of everyone—they all knew how much Tennessee hated being woken up—except Tennessee, who glared at his lover.

"So, it's decided?" Renee asked.

"It's okay with us," Henry said, speaking for himself and the Barringtons, who nodded in agreement. Trixie and Tennessee also nodded in agreement.

Sparing one last glance at the adorable scene, the others left Trixie and Tennessee behind. The couple walked into the room and kissed their sleeping daughter's cheek before whispering "Good night".

Tennessee gently brushed the longer fur out of his cub's—he never got tired of thinking that or hearing it—face. He leaned over and whispered so quietly that even Trixie couldn't hear, "Keep him safe. I know this isn't over yet. Something isn't right, and you and I both know it." He didn't know what made him say it, nor did he particularly care as he stood up straight and placed his paw in Trixie's and together, they left the room, following the others.

Renee walked back into the room—she had stayed outside in order to give the parents a little privacy—and went over to the closet, pulling a spare blanket out of one of the drawers. Then, silently, she took the blanket over to the bed and gently covered the golden she-cub with it. After that, she took Beary's vitals and marked them down on a metal clipboard. She paused as she was writing down the BP and watched in amazement when she saw the comatose cub's paw twitch.

"It can't be…" she whispered. She watched for any more signs of movement, but nothing happened. "Must've been wishful thinking…" she mumbled, finishing writing down the BP. Hanging the clipboard on the end of the bed, she silently left the room, dowsing the lights as she left.

Once again, the comatose cub's paw twitched, and his head ever so slightly turned so that the masked snout was resting on Jewel's head.

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

_Darkness surrounded him. Silence engulfed him. He floated on nothingness, if that was even possible. He felt lighter than air, almost as if his body didn't exist. In the distance, he could see a small, bright, white light. The "light" was the only source of comfort on this strange plane of existence._

_"Hello?" the young cub called, his voice filled with fear. He had been here for as long as he could remember—which wasn't very long. He couldn't even remember how he had gotten here in the first place! He couldn't remember much of anything for that matter._

"Beary…"

_His hazel eyes dilated in surprise and fear. He looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the voice. "W-Who are you?" he asked._

"Beary, don't you recognize me?"

_The cub thought for a moment. "Mama?" he softly guessed._

_A figure appeared, surrounded by a bright glow that briefly blinded him. Once he could see again, he could see that she was slightly taller than he was with an almost white-furred face, the rest of her body being covered in light brown fur. Her forest green eyes were filled with kindness and love. She wore a white gown, with a mesh skirt and sleeves. Hanging from her waist was a long loincloth that reached her knees, also white in color. Her top was loose and soft. A pair of silver wings donned her back. _

"Hello, Beary," _she said, her voice sounding like a flute. _"It's been a long time, hasn't it? You've grown so much."

_Beary was startled at seeing his mother for the first time in years—other than in his dreams, that is. "Is that really you?" he questioned, taking a small step towards her._

_The she-bear smiled. _"Yes, my son. I'm really here. But you shouldn't be. It's not your time."

_"What do you mean? Where am I?"_

_She sighed. _"This is the place that souls go before they Cross Over. Those who are not meant to move on are held here while their bodies heal. Each time something happens to a person's body, like a cut or a near death experience, their souls move closer to Favum. Some enter the Favum before their time is up."

_"So, why am I here?"_

"Do you not remember?"

_The cub shook his head._

_She sighed. _"This is going to be difficult for you to understand. Right now, your physical body is in a coma. You were gravely injured and poisoned. Your body has been trying to fight against it for some time now. But, during that time, certain circumstances have brought your soul closer to the Favum. You're about halfway there, now."

_"Why are **you** here?"_

"To prevent you from Crossing Over before your time. I've been watching over you since I died."

_Her son stopped her from continuing on. "Why did you die, Mama? Why did you leave me alone like that?"_

_Hurt filled her eyes and she looked down. _"Believe, I didn't want to physically leave you. That's what your father and I tried to prevent by hiding both you and me from the outside world."

_Beary looked at her, confused. "What do you mean "hide us"?" he questioned._

"Baby, there are evils in the world that you couldn't possibly imagine. When you were kidnapped, you only experienced a small fraction of all the evil in the world. The biggest form of evil is revenge, which, in a way, you experienced anyway. You were taken by two people who didn't want revenge on you, per say, but on someone else."

_"Then, why'd they take me?"_

"Because it was easier to cause the people they wanted revenge to suffer greatly because you are not only very young, but very loved by almost everyone who meets you."

_"Almost everyone?"_

"Josh Chase, remember? Reed Thimple. Well, I guess his real name was Benny Boggswaggle."

_"B.B.," he mumbled._

"Yes, Beary. Benny Boggswaggle is, er, **was** B.B." She sighed. "But enough about that. I want you to know that I never fully left you."

_"Excuse me?"_

"My body may have died, but my soul remained. It was **_my_** soul that led you to that forest ranger. It was **_I_** that helped the ranger find a family to take you in. It was **_I_** that reunited with your biological father."

_Beary's eyes widened. "Huh? Run that by me again, will you?"_

_His mother came towards him, but he took a step back, surprising her. _"Beary, what's wrong?"

_"What do you mean you reunited me with my biological father?" the cub demanded, his curiosity and surprising anger getting the better of him. But who could blame him? He wanted answers, damn it!_

"You were reacquainted with your father last year when you reunited the band. I'm surprised you didn't recognize him. You used to scream and shout with excitement whenever he would come visit us."

_"I met six guys last year, Mama. Henry, Big Al, Ted, Fred, Zeb… I don't think Tennessee counts, though. Then my mom would be Trixie, which isn't possible, since she was pregnant with Jewel when she **left** him."_

_Helen stared at him, amazed. Grinning, she said, _"You **_definitely_** get your brains and observation skills from me. But think, Beary. When you were in the cabin, whose picture did you see?"

_"Henry?" His eyes widened in disbelief. "No way. T-That's not… possible… Is it?" He looked at her closely, and his eyes widened even more. "Are you serious?"_

_She nodded, smiling softly. _"Yes, Beary. Henry is your father."

_"B-B-But…" A tugging sensation stopped him mid-sentence. "What's going on?" He began to move against his will towards the strange bright light. He looked at his mother's horrified and terrified expression before looking back at the light, which was getting bigger and much closer. "Mama! Help me!"_

_Helen attempted to make a move towards him, but something stopped her from moving. She looked up at something that only she could see and screamed,_ "NO! It's not his time! Let him go! Please! Mortem pro me tolle! Parce puer!"_ She looked back at her son with tears in her eyes._"Baby, you have to fight it! If you don't you'll never wake up! I can't help! This is your battle! Find the strength!"

_Try as he might, he couldn't find the strength to fight against the incredibly strong pull. What little strength was fading fast. He looked down at his paw and was immediately horrified as it began to dissolve before his very eyes. As he watched, his arm began to dissolve. The dissolved pieces began to flow towards the light._

"Beary, fight it!" _his mother pleaded. _"It's not your time! Baby, please!" _She looked towards the light, begging and pleading. "_Cantios non est paratus! Nolite filii mei tuleris!"

_He didn't look at her as he answered in a voice that was not his own. "Why fight it? I feel peaceful for once. Warm, even. No more pain… I… I don't want to go back…"_

_The light changed from a white glow to a reddish-black one as a voice familiar to only Helen spoke. _"That's right, Beary. Don't fight the pull."

_As the figure materialized the she-bear let out a warning growl. _"Get the **_hell_** away from my son, Adam, you bastard."

_The blackish-silver furred just grinned. _"I see you still remember me, dear Helen. I'm touched. But, I don't think I will let him go. You see, I have him under my spell. No matter what you say to him, he won't listen. He belongs to me now." _He laughed sadistically. He began to change form into something simply terrible. Black and red bloody body, shredded wings of a bat, long demon horns… He had turned into a Belua. And now he was after Beary's soul. _

_Helen's eyes narrowed and she let out a fierce growl. If only she weren't on this plane, she could fight him. But here, she could use no weapons. _"Beary, listen to Mama. Fight him! Baby, fight!"

_Beary couldn't hear her. By now, almost a third of his body had been dissolved._

"Beary!"

"He can't hear you, Helen! Try as you might, he won't answer, you bitch! My revenge will finally be complete and you can't do a thing to stop it!"

_A soft voice suddenly filled the darkness with song, causing everything and everyone to freeze._

**If I tell you  
Will you listen?  
Will you stay?  
Will you be here forever?  
Never go away?**

**Never thought things would change  
Hold me tight  
Please don't say again  
That you have to go**

**A bitter thought  
I had it all  
But I just let it go**

**Oh, this silence  
It's so violent  
Since you`re gone**

**All my thoughts are with you forever  
Until the day we'll be back together  
I will be waiting for you**

_Beary's dissolving stopped with only his head left. "Jewel?" he questioned. Then, for some reason neither adult bear could comprehend, the dissolving reversed. The cub's body began to piece itself back together. His soul moved away from the sinister-looking light._

"NO!" _the Belua shouted, making a grab for the cub's soul, but missed him by inches. He let out a scream of rage as he was slowly sucked back into the dark light._"How?"

_Helen just chuckled. _"Never doubt young love, you old fool. You won't get him. He's going home, where he belongs. He's going back to the cub he loves, who also loves him. He's going back to the family he loves and deserves and it is **you** that can't stop it. You've **lost**, Adam. My family is stronger than you ever were."

_Another voice was heard, much to the shock of both Adam and Helen._

"She's right, you know."

"J-Julie?"

"Julie!"

_Another bear appeared, holding the paw of a much younger cub. Together, as one, the she-bear and cub spoke. _"Go back to Infernos, where you belong."

_As they dark light disappeared, all that was left was a furious scream._

_Helen turned towards her old friend. She was about to speak, but the black she-bear stopped her. _"Helen, no. Now is not the time. I can't stay. Besides, you have your own cub to look after and return back to where he belongs. It's time for me… and my son, to rest in peace at last." _Without another word, she disappeared, despite Helen's cries._

_Beary, fully rematerialized, turned to his mother with a confused look. "Mama, who… What?"_

"That… was an old friend. But enough about that. You need to get back home."

_A sad smile crossed his face. "Am I ever going to see you again?"_

_She embraced him tightly as a few tears rolled down her cheeks. _"Yes, baby. We'll meet again. I promise." _She chuckled and held him at a distance and wiped a tear from her son's eye. _"You've grown so much, Beary Henry Taylor. You were just a little thing when I last held you."

_The cub chuckled as he wrapped his arms around his mother's waist. "Am… Am I going to remember this?" he asked as everything faded and only his mother's voice and a lingering touch on his cheek remained._

"You might, you might not. But you **must** remember that I love you. Nothing will ever change that."_ She smiled softly. _"I will use the last of my strength to heal as much as I can of your body. Then, I must go back to Caelo… and recuperate. I'll see you soon…"

_"I love you, too, Mama." With that, his soul was engulfed in a familiar warmth as everything turned black…_

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

She didn't know what woke her up. Blinking slowly, she lifted her head and looked around in confusion, wondering where she was. A few moments later, she remembered. Immediately, she skin flushed under her fur as she released her hold on Beary's arm and looked at his face.

Her eyes widened in disbelief when a pair of hazel eyes stared back, glinting in the moonlight that filled the room.

Jewel just about fell backwards off the bed in shock. "B-Beary?" she shrieked.

His voice was barely a whisper, but he answered. "J-Jew…el?"

That was all it took for the golden she-cub to immediately hug him and let her tears fall.

Slowly, the former comatose cub lifted his right arm and wrapped it around his friend's shoulders. He wasn't sure what was going on or where he was, but if Jewel was hugging him and crying, the only thing he knew how to do was give her some comfort.

He wanted to say something, but his throat hurt too much as a sharp pain shot through it. He let out a slight whimper that was cut short by the pain. A few tears fell down his cheeks.

Jewel heard him and stopped the embrace. Looking at him with worried eyes, she questioned, "Beary, what's wrong?"

Instead of answering—because he couldn't—he pointed at his throat.

"Your throat hurts?"

He nodded.

Jewel hopped off the bed and pressed the call button. "Don't worry, Beary. Dr. Daka will be here soon."

Even though he was confused, Beary nodded.

Jewel held his paw again, gently squeezing it as she stood next to the bed. She just prayed that it wasn't a dream.

The door opened and in walked Dr. Renee Daka. "Jewel, what's wro-" She froze and dropped the metal clipboard as she looked at the bed in shock.

Looking right back at her with wide eyes was her "comatose" patient. Her never-to-wake-up patient.

"Dr. Daka," Jewel began with a wide grin, "look who's finally awake."

Renee Daka stepped on her clipboard as she raced to the bed. She had to be dreaming. There was no possible way… "How? When?" she questioned as she checked vitals. She was shocked to find them all normal. "This isn't possible!"

"He woke up a few minutes ago. He motioned that his throat really hurts. He can barely talk," Jewel replied, somehow still managing to keep calm despite all the excitement in the room. She still held Beary's paw, refusing to let it go, in case it all _was_ just a dream.

"I'll run some tests. In the meantime, go call the others. Better yet, just call Dex. Best not start a stampede. It's still early in the morning. Plus, it's snowing heavily. A big bus would be a huge problem, especially on the icy roads. Dex _does_ have a car, I presume?"

"Yep."

"A small car would be able to maneuver better on the roads. So, yes. Call Dex. His parents would just panic and wake everyone up. Best to start small, eh? Not overwhelm the poor lad. We'll contact the others in the morning." She glanced at the door. "Use the phone in the nurse's station." Seeing the cub's hesitation, Renee sighed. "He'll be fine now that he's finally awake. Go on. I'll make sure he's okay. I promise. Let him rest now."

Jewel finally nodded and squeezed Beary's paw one more time. "I'll be back, CBB. Soon." With one final squeeze, she let go of his paw and left the room.

Renee looked at the bedridden cub. "Sleep. You need it." She didn't need to say any more. The cub was already out of it. She quickly checked him over again, just to make sure he hadn't slipped back into the coma again. Satisfied that he hadn't, she looked back at the door, waiting for the she-cub.

All was finally well in the world, now that Beary was awake.

_.~*~._

Reaching the nurse's station, Jewel told the nurse there that Daka had told her to call Dex and tell him that Beary was awake. The nurse, surprised—everyone thought that the cub would never wake—let her use the phone. Then, she—the nurse—went and told other staff of the hospital.

Grinning from ear to ear, Jewel began to dial Dex's cell phone number and listened as it began to ring. "Come on, pick up!" she mumbled, eyeing the numerous staff that began to appear from seemingly nowhere and walking towards Beary's room door. She was about to chastise them when she heard Dex's tired voice on the other end of the line.

"_Hullo?_"

"Dex, get down here, but don't wake anyone else up. Leave a note."

"_Jewel? Is that you?_"

"Yes, it's me. Who else would it be?"

"_What the hell do you want? It's two o'clock in the friggin' morning!_"

"Just get down here."

"_Is something wrong? What happened to Beary?_"

"Dex, we've had a Christmas miracle."

On the other end of the line, Dex sighed. "_Jewel, what are you talking about?_"

"Beary's awake."

There was a thump on the other end of the line. Dex must've fallen out of bed, causing Jewel to giggle. "_Whoa, whoa, whoa. Say that again._"

"Beary's awake."

"_Jewel, this isn't funny. Tell me the truth._"

"Dex, I** am** telling the truth. If you don't believe me, then come see for yourself. And hurry up. And **don't** tell anyone. Except maybe in a note for them to find in the morning."

"_Why?_"

She heard the sound of pants zipping up, causing her to blush as she listened to him dress. "Uh, because if they find out, then they'll be rushing and… It'll just be disastrous. But, Dex, there's something wrong with his voi-"

His voice dropped to a whisper. "_Shh! I think Mom and Dad are awake. I'm on my way. Just… Just keep him awake._" With that, the phone hung up.

Jewel walked back to Beary's room with a smile on her face and a hop in her step. If anyone were to see her right now, they would think she glowed like sunshine. Which, if the light hit her fur just right, she **_did_**.

Upon entering the room—after pushing through numerous nurses, doctors, and interns alike—she froze when she saw that her friend's eyes were closed again. "Is he-"

Renee stopped her panic attack before it could properly begin. "He's sleeping. Comatose patients tend to be tired when they first wake. It's like they never got any sleep at all."

"But he will wake, right?"

The doctor nodded.

Jewel returned to Beary's side and took his paw in her own again. If this was a dream, she **_never_** wanted to wake.


	22. Chapter Twenty-One

.~*Chapter Twenty-One*~.

Dexter "Dex" Barrington yawned as he drove along the highway to get to the hospital. Jewel's phone call had startled him and just about gave him a heart attack. When she had told him the reason _why_ she was calling, he had fallen out of bed with a loud thump. His parents had come in about a minute later, after he had hung up the phone, and asked him what was going on. He had told them that he had just had a bad dream—pretty lame, he admits—and had fallen out of bed. Surprisingly enough, they not only believed him, they _sympathized_ with him. Apparently they thought he had a dream about Beary.

Well, they had been wrong about one thing—the part about him having a bad dream—but right about one thing—that he _had_ in fact been thinking about his younger bear-brother.

Long story short, they had gone back to bed shortly afterwards. Dex waited for ten minutes before getting up and leaving. He had left a note explaining the matter. He knew his parents and the _Bears_ were going to flip at the news.

But that was thirty minutes ago. He would've been halfway to Shelbyville by now, but the road conditions and heavy snow had slowed him down incredibly. It was taking him twice as long to reach his destination.

A song came over the radio, nearly making Dex swerve the vehicle in surprise when he realized that it was Jewel's and Beary's voices coming out of it, singing their famous song, "_Never Be Forgotten_". Well, to be more correct, it would be JCB's famous song. JCB was the alias Beary and Jewel had come up with so that they wouldn't be chased down by any paparazzi that may try to track them down. Apparently the alias worked, much to everyone's surprise and relief.

But, now as he listened to them sing, a single tear graced his cheek. Something in Jewel's tone when she began to say that something was wrong with his baby brother's voice told him that something was seriously wrong. '_What if he can't talk anymore? What if… What if he can't **sing** anymore? That would devastate him…_'

"_That was the singing group known as JCB. Next up we have the Country Bea-_"

He switched the radio off, not in the mood right now to hear the Bears' music. With his luck, he would be hearing one of the newer songs—one with Beary singing in it.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but the next thing he knew, he was pulling into the hospital parking lot. He had no trouble finding a place to park, so he parked as close to the hospital entrance as he could and got out of his car. Heavy snow continued to fall, and the wind blew it into huge drifts that were at least six feet tall now. The blizzard that the weather station had been threatening was finally coming in.

As he brushed the snow off his coat and stamped his feet to get rid of the excess, a voice called out, causing him to jump in surprise.

"Hey! What are you doin' here? If you have an emergency or somethin', go to emergency entrance," the bear said. He wore a simple navy blue jacket with a gold badge stating that he was security guard.

"It's okay, Joey. I asked him to come," Renee said as she stepped out of the elevator. "He's Beary's older brother."

"Say, how is the cub?" Joey asked, looking at the good doctor.

"Well, he's awake."

"Really?"

"Yup. Woke up about an hour and a half ago. Gave his friend quite a scare."

Dex decided to make his presence known by clearing his throat.

Renee looked at him apologetically. "Sorry, Dex. It isn't too often that we get someone to wake up from a six month coma. It's a miracle."

"So… He really is awake? No bluffing?"

"Well, if you don't believe us, then follow me. I'll take you to him and you can see for yourself." She began walking back towards the elevator, and he had no other choice but to follow her. The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. She pressed the button for the correct floor and the square box rose with the help of the metal cables. "I had Jewel only call you because I didn't want a stampede down here. I'm going to be in enough trouble for letting Jewel stay overnight, though I'm glad she did."

Dex turned to her, his eyes pleading. "Dr. Daka, what exactly is going on?"

Renee took a moment to think about what to say. But before she got a chance to speak, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. They stepped out of the elevator and she led him to the room. "It's a Christmas miracle, kiddo."

"Jewel pretty much said the same thing over the phone. She also said something about his voice?"

"Well, that's the bad news. We knew months ago that his vocal cords were damaged. We didn't find out until an hour and thirty minutes ago just how much."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Well, he's having a lot a trouble speaking. His throat hurts immensely. Whatever you do, don't try to get him to speak. We don't want them damaged any more than they already are." Dex nodded and she quietly opened the door. "Jewel?" she quietly called out as they entered the room.

"Dex!" Jewel softly cried, moving away from her friend to hug her friend's older brother. A few tears fell from her eyes, though they were not tears of sadness, but tears of joy.

Dex, though surprised, returned the hug, gently stroking the long golden fur on the top of her head as her tears fell freely. "You know, Beary wouldn't just wake up for_anybody_. He would wake for _you_." He grinned. He knew how close the two cubs were—'_no_, **_are_**,' he silently corrected himself—and knew that what he said would be the truth.

"D…Dex?"

For a moment, Dex thought he had imagined the voice, for it was barely audible, so he just glanced in the direction he thought it had come from and nearly collapsed from both amazement and relief. Jewel backed away from him.

"Beary, you shouldn't be trying to talk. You'll damage your vocal cords further. Right now, you'll lucky to be able to even make any noise with the damage I found," Renee chastised.

The light brown-furred cub immediately quieted.

"B-Beary?" Dex stammered, his voice raising an octave as he took a small step towards his brother. "Am I… Am I dr-dreaming?"

The occupants of the room shook their heads. "Nope," Jewel answered. "You're not. He's really awa-" She didn't get a chance to finish before she burst into laughter at the sight of Dex going up to his brother and poking him in the arm.

Renee herself couldn't hold back her laughter at the sight. Especially as Beary glared at his older brother in annoyance. She laughed even harder when Dex—satisfied that Beary wasn't a mirage—grinned broadly and hugged his brother tightly.

"Don't you **_ever_** do that to me again!" The teenager's soft voice said with a slight hic as his shoulders shook with almost silent sobs. "Never again, you hear me? **_Never_**."

Beary couldn't answer—not just because he couldn't speak, but also because he didn't know what to say. He wasn't fully aware of the situation. So, he simply settled for returning the hug with his free arm.

Jewel and Renee had respectfully looked away from the touching family moment, lest they begin to cry at the sentimentality.

Dex broke the embrace and hurriedly wiped his eyes of the tears. "Why'd you wait until Christmas to wake up?"

The cub let out an alarmed and startled cry—almost silent, though—at his older brother's remark. He looked at them all with wide eyes. His lips moved, forming the word "what?", but not a sound came out. Immediately after that, he placed a paw on his throat and let out a pained whimper that broke Jewel's, Dex's, and Renee's hearts.

"We'll explain more in the morning, Beary. Rest now," Renee said, adjusting the sheets around the cub. "Go back to sleep." Seeing that Beary closed his eyes, she turned to the others. "You should get some rest as well. We'll call the others in the morning."

"Um… That may not be possible," Dex interrupted.

"What do you mean?"

Jewel yawned. Dex and Renee glanced at her. "Jewel, go back to sleep. We'll talk in the morning," Renee said.

The cub nodded. Renee and Dex left the room.

Jewel glanced at the sleeping Beary and saw that there was still room on the side of the bed, so—after checking to make sure that he was still sleeping—she crawled back onto the bed and lay next to her friend. His right arm had moved to the side, almost hanging off the bed, so she curled up between his arm and torso and rested her head lightly against his chest.

As soon as her eyes shut, she was asleep. She never noticed that Beary briefly woke and found his friend sleeping against him. Grinning slightly, he drew his right arm around her shoulders and leaned his head against hers. Quickly after that, he, too, was asleep once more.

_.~*~._

"Now, tell me what you mean," Renee said.

"The blizzard was getting really bad as I came in. Power lines might go down. Roads are probably going to be closed as well. Heck, there's six foot drifts in your parking lot!"

"Well, that's not good," she muttered.

"No kidding. The road was incredibly icy when I was driving up here. It was ridiculous."

"Well, you're here now, and that's what counts. For some reason, I have a feeling that I'm going to get in trouble with your families. Well, yours, at least," she said, looking directly at the teenager. "You do have your cell phone, correct?"

"Yeah, I-" Dex fumbled around in his pockets, looking for the small phone. "Darn it. I think I forgot it."

"I have mine. It's in my bag down in my locker. We'll call in the morning." The teen yawned, causing the young doctor to smile. "Well, come on let's go get you a cot or something for you to sleep on." She chuckled and quietly opened the room door, grinning at the sight on the bed. "Now that's just cute."

Dex peered over her shoulder—he was a good two inches taller than her—and smiled as well. "It's so obvious those two have missed each other." His smile slipped away as Renee shut the door. "Is… Is his voice ever going to-"

The platinum blonde female placed a hand on his shoulder. "Give it time, Dex. If it gets better, it gets better. If it doesn't… Well, we'll figure out what to do when it comes to that point in time. But for now, you need rest."

The young adult yawned again, testifying to just how tired he truly was. "I guess so…"

"Renee? What are you doing here? I thought you had the night off!" a voice behind them asked. They both turned to see a dark-haired male wearing a black fire coat and pants—with yellow reflector stripes—and a tired smile. He pecked Renee on the cheek, causing her to blush.

"Johnny!" Renee exclaimed, her cheeks having a pinkish tinge to them. "What are you doing here?"

"Car accident. Two cars collided when the streetlights when out. Of course, the icy roads and almost no visibility didn't help matters much," the man answered.

"Am I needed?"

"No, they got it covered." The man looked at Dex in confusion. "Who are you?"

"Dex Barrington," the teen answered.

"My name's John DeSoto. You can call me Johnny. In fact, I would be insulted if you didn't." The fireman held out his hand and Dex shook it.

Renee looked at the man in confusion. "What do you need, Johnny? How did you find me?"

"Well, I was comin' up to visit the cub, since I hadn't in a while," Johnny replied.

"How-" Dex began, but Renee cut him off.

"He's one of the firefighter paramedics that brought Beary in," she explained.

"Besides," Johnny went on, "Roy and I can't leave. The roads are closed even to us and there's zero visibility. We may be here awhile. This is the worst blizzard I've ever seen."

The lights flickered overhead and everyone looked up before the hallway went completely dark.

"Crap," Renee muttered, earning a surprised glance from Dex and an amused look from Johnny. "The back-up generator should kick in soon. I hope no one was in surgery. They'd be screwed," she said darkly with a humorless chuckle.

There was soft _click_ and a beam of light appeared. "I got a flashlight," Johnny said as he shined the light on the other two, then around the hallway. He pulled something out of his pocket a few minutes later, when the lights still didn't turn on. "I'm gonna contact Roy. Maybe he knows why the generators aren't workin' yet." But before he had a chance to do so, there was static, then a voice was heard."

"_Johnny? Can you read me?_"

"I read ya, Roy."

"_I'm trapped in the service elevator between the second and third floor._"

"The power went out, Pally."

"_I figured out **that** much, Junior_," the other man replied dryly. "_When's the back-up generator comin' on so I can get out of here?_"

Renee took the radio from Johnny. "Even when the generator comes on, you won't be able to move for hours. The back-up is for the rooms and the main elevator, not the service one…"

"_Oh, that's just **great**, Renee. Real peachy._"

Johnny, grinning, took the HT from her. "I'll go down the stairs to the third floor and open the doors from there."

"That won't work, Johnny. Elevator doors on the third floor are under repair. One of the drunks we had in here decided to ram a cart into the doors, denting them. Now they won't open," Renee muttered. "Stupid git."

"Change of plans, Roy. I'll go down the stairs and go out to the squad. I'll grab some rope and belts. I'll come down for you."

"_10-4._"

The paramedic aimed the flashlight at Dex, illuminating the teen's face. "Can you help me with this? I can lower you down the shaft—I'll be too heavy for you to pull up—and you can take the belt to Roy and help him out of the emergency escape on the ceilin' of the elevator."

"Sure."

The dark-haired man then turned to Renee. "Ren, can you go round up anybody who isn't checking on patients and have them come up here to help us?"

Renee nodded and looked at Dex. "Go check on your brother and Jewel. They should be fine, but one can never be sure. Oh, and there are some spare flashlights at the nurses' station. Hopefully they didn't take them all."

Dex yawned again and nodded. As everyone split up to accomplish their assigned tasks, Dex walked back to Beary's room and quietly pushed the door open, shining the flashlight inside. The sight that met him was startling: Beary's head was thrashing from side to side and he was whimpering. Jewel was standing by her friend's bed, shaking him and softly calling for him to wake up, but her attempts were futile.

Dex quickly rushed to her side and joined her. He knew Beary was having a nightmare. "Beary. Beary, waked up!" he called.

"Lil Bear, wake up!" Jewel called at the same time.

A few moments later, the cub's hazel eyes opened wide, the pupils constricted. His breathing was shallow and fast as he looked around frantically.

"Whoa, Beary. Calm down, Lil Bear!" Jewel exclaimed, causing the distressed cub to look at her in confusion and disbelief. His eyes were wide and pleading, and the she-cub knew immediately what he needed. She bent over and gave him a hug and whispered, "It was only a nightmare, Beary. They're never going to come near you again."

Beary buried his snout in her shoulder and his one movable arm was wrapped around her shoulders. "Sure?" he managed to ask with a small groan of pain.

"Yes, Beary," Dex answered. "I won't let those bastards near you again. I swear on it."

The cubs looked at Dex, one with a grin and the other with a frown that threatened to turn into a grin as well.

Dex grinned as well. "Now, you two get back to sleep."

"What about you?" Jewel questioned as she helped the teen tuck in the newly awakened cub.

"I… er… have some _business_ to take care of," the teen answered. "Now, go to sleep."

Jewel hopped up on the bed next to her already-asleep friend and quickly fell asleep herself.

Dex smiled at them before quickly and quietly walking out of the room.

_.~*~._

The back-up generator had finally kicked in when Dex was beginning his descent down the shaft.

Johnny had pried the elevator doors open—with the help of the security officer from downstairs (Joe), Dex, and Renee—with a crowbar. It had taken some time, but eventually got it open. The then helped Dex into the safety belt and told him what to do

Now, Dex **_had_** gone rock climbing before (he and Beary **_both_** had—so he knew how to recline down a wall, but he didn't mind being reminded; besides, he had never reclined down an **_elevator shaft_** before) but he couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear as he began his descent. A _lot_ of things could go wrong; same dangers as if he was really rock climbing.

"Nice and easy, Dex. No need to rush and get hurt!" Johnny called down.

"Gotcha!" the seventeen-year-old replied. There was a creak from the cables that sent a shiver down his spine. It was cool in the shaft; the temperature must've been below 50o. He looked up at eh open elevator doors before looking down at the top of the elevator which was almost fifteen feet below, and gulped.

What **_had_** he agreed too?

What was he so worked up for? He had an experienced firefighter manning the ropes above him. What could go wrong?

_Anything and everything_, a voice said.

Startled, Dex glanced around, but saw nothing but a dimly-lit elevator shaft with thick wires in the middle. '_Wait. When did the lights come back on?_' he wondered.

"Hey, Dex! The generator finally kicked in!" Johnny called from above.

"So **_that's_** why the lights came back on!"

There was laughter from above, causing him to grin as he continued his descent, more confident than before. Now that he could see what he was doing, he felt less scared and more confident.

He reached the top of the elevator soon after that and knelt down at the top of the trapdoor. Pulling it open, he gazed down into the dimly-lit interior.

A face looked up at him. "Hello," the man said with a smile.

"What's up?" Dex replied with a grin. "Anything you need to hand up?"

"Other than my injured pride? Nah."

The teenager grinned and extended an arm down to him, helping to pull the firefighter/paramedic out of the elevator. Once the older man also knelt on the elevator roof. He introduced himself as Roy DeSoto, Johnny's older brother.

"Dex Barrington," the seventeen-year-old replied, shaking his hand.

"Wait. You're that cub's older brother? How's he doin'?"

Dex nodded and grinned. "He's awake."

Roy DeSoto looked at him in surprise. "I thought…"

"Well, he defied all odds and woke up about an hour and a half ago. Scared the living daylights out of Jewel."

"Jewel?"

"His best friend." The Barrington grinned. "More like star-crossed lovers, if you ask me. I may not be as smart as Einstein, but I'm not dumb, either. It's kinda obvious."

"What are you, a romance expert?"

The teen blushed. "Not really, no, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see it."

"Are you guys going to stay down there all night gossiping like two old women or do you want to come on up?" Johnny called.

The two shared a glance and started laughing.

Dex handed him the spare belt off the hook on his belt. "Here," he said, handing it to him.

As Roy strapped the belt around his waist, he spoke. "You go up first. I'll meet you up top."

Fifteen minutes later, both teenager and adult were on the same floor as the others.

"You know, somehow we're gonna have to figure out a way to get word out that we're snowed in and losing power," Roy commented softly, looking around at the assembled group.

"Well, landlines are dead," Johnny said.

"And apparently, so are cell towers," Renee groaned as she placed her cell phone back in her pocket. "Great."

"So, we're stuck here?" Joe laminated, looking from one human to another.

Dex nodded. "Yup. Certainly looks like it."

The lights above them flickered, causing them all to groan.

"This is _so_ not good… Why is the generator going out? Was there a leak?" Renee asked, looking at Joe, who shrugged.

Dex sighed. "Well, something tells me that my and Jewel's families are going to be freaking out…"

The good doctor nodded and grinned half-heartedly.


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two

.~*Chapter Twenty-Two*~.

Allison Barrington yawned and slowly freed herself from her husband's arms as she sat up on the edge of the bed. A little bit of sunlight streamed into the bedroom through the top of the window, causing her to pause and look at the strange sight. Besides the small slit of sunlight, all that was visible outside was whiteness.

She leaned back and shook her husband's shoulder. "Norbert! Norbert, wake up!" she hissed.

The balding man woke with a start and felt around on the nightstand for his glasses. Finding them, he forced them onto his face, stabbing his eye in the process, and turned to look at his wife in confusion whilst rubbing his injured eye. "What's wrong?"

The redhead merely pointed at the window.

"What the-" Norbert exclaimed as he put his slippers on, along with his blue robe. He got up and walked towards the window. Placing his hand on the on the glass pane, he was startled at just how cold it was. It shouldn't be **_that_** cold! Sure, it was December and all, but even windows weren't **_that_** cold! "Something's amiss," he commented as he removed his palm from the pane and tightened his robe. He turned to his wife, who was tying her green robe and placing her slippers on her feet, and wrapped an arm around her waist. Together, they walked out of the bedroom and to the living room.

He gripped the door handle and pulled. A white wall stood beyond the open door. "What the-" he began as he reached out and touched the "wall". The part his fingers came in contact with crumbled into a fine powder. "It… It's snow…"

"That blizzard last night was a doozy," Allison stated, shivering slightly. "Close the door before the snow falls in."

He did so, and flipped the light switch. Nothing happened. Confused, he flipped it again, but still nothing. "Well, that's odd…"

His wife went over to the phone and picked it up. All that came from it was silence. "Phone lines are out. Power must be gone, too." She walked over to her son's bedroom and knocked. Receiving no answer, she opened the door. "Dex?" she questioned as she walked into the dark room. What little light there was in the main room filtered in through the open door, revealing an empty bed. "Dex?"

A bright beam of light illuminated the room; Norbert had found a flashlight. He swept the beam from side to side, revealing that Allison was the only other one in the room. "Where'd he get off to?" he wondered aloud.

The redhead looked at him with fear in her eyes. "Go call his cell phone!" she hissed.

He quickly left and did just that.

Allison jumped a foot in the air when a rock 'n' roll song loudly blared from somewhere in the room. Looking around for the source of the sound, she spotted her son's cell phone resting on the bed. She silently swore and picked it up. "It's no good, Norbert! He forgot his phone!"

"_Again_?" the man asked, appearing in the doorway, holding his own phone. He shined the flashlight on his wife's face. "I'm going to try calling the hospital."

While her husband was doing that, she opened Dex's phone and flipped through the menu. She knew something was amiss. Where had her son gone and why had he left his phone? If he wasn't in the cabin, he would've had to have left before three; otherwise he would've been trapped by the snow.

Arriving at the _received calls_ section of the phone, her eyes widened at the second call down, instantly recognizing the number for the hospital. "N-Norbert!" she whispered.

The forty-four-year-old hung up. "Phone lines out there must be down." Seeing his wife's startled expression, he asked her what was wrong.

"Someone from the hospital called Dex around two this morning."

"What?"

She showed him the list on the phone as her answer.

"Maybe… Maybe Jewel woke up and called Dex to come pick her up?" the man suggested hopefully.

"But… Why would she call Dex and not her parents?" Her eyes filled with tears as another possibility came to mind. "You… You don't think that… that…"

Norbert immediately embraced her and gently rubbed her back. "Daka would've called _all _of us if **he**...passed away. Besides, she said that she wouldn't pull the plug until tomorrow." He knew what he had just said had a probability of 999,999,999,999:1.

"Damn it, Norbert! You know just as well as I that if this storm knocked out power here, it probably did the same thing out there!" Normally, the female Barrington was gentle and didn't use foul language, but today… there was an exception as she broke down in tears. "There's n-nothing k-keeping h-him alive…!"

Though her husband knew that that was probably true, he kept whispering reassurances in her ear as he led her out of the room and into their own room.

Neither of them had seen the note that had fallen to the floor and was now under the bed. The very note that said in Dex's own handwriting, that Beary was awake.

He didn't know how he managed to keep up his demure, but he knew he had to. He had to stay strong. He had to remain a rock for his wife though he desperately wanted to cry as well.

But, even though he managed to keep up his fortitude, he couldn't prevent the tears that fell from his storm-gray eyes onto his wife's red hair…

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

Al "Big Al" Hathworth woke with a yawn. He didn't know what time it was and found it strange that there was no cry from the rooster. "That's odd…" the great gray bear muttered as he began to sit up, only to discover that he already was sitting up. He had fallen asleep in his armchair again.

Who could blame him, really? The armchair, though old and the red fabric torn and faded, was downright **_comfortable_**! Some would say that it was no good, that the cushioning was all gone, leaving just hard springs. Al knew better. He had had this chair for many years—ever since he had moved to the Hall to help Henry and Helen with the repairs. It had been a housewarming gift from the couple.

**FLASHBACK**

_"I won't get much of a chance to use it, ya know," the gray bear commented as he sat down in the chair._

_"Why's that?" Helen asked him, confused. Standing next to her was her husband, Henry, who had his arm in a cast. He was still recovering from the shooting a week ago._

_"Well, **someone** has to get this place fixed up. You should've called me sooner. There's a **lot** to do." Al chuckled. "And I can't count on Henry to not destroy the place."_

_Laughter filled the air…_

**END FLASHBACK**

The thought of his younger sister made the older bear sigh sadly. What he wouldn't give to see her smile and hear her laughter again.

What he wouldn't give to see **_both_** his younger siblings again. **_Both_** Helen and Jacob had been killed before their time. **_Both_** of the twins had left behind cubs of their own. Jacob had left behind two cubs—a male, Kaspian, and a female, Kenya. Last he heard, Kaspian had joined the FBI, and Kenya was in her last year of getting her degree in police science. She, too, was planning on enrolling in the FBI training program.

Helen, on the other hand, had left behind a single cub, Beary.

Al had never married, thus never had cubs. Though, at one time he had seriously planned on marrying a lovely she-panda named Faye Tality. But she had left him, taking his heart with her. He vowed never to fall in love again.

The two families had lost touch with each other over the years, due to some falling out between Helen and her sister-in-law. Jacob had been stuck in the middle between the two she-bears, but refused to do anything to stop their bickering, positive that they would sort it out eventually. It had lead to a rivalry between the two "sisters", who then refused to talk to each other at all. Well, that's not exactly true; Rachael, Jacob's mate, didn't want her husband his twin talking. The twins, however, still managed to find a way to talk every now and then.

The families had managed to briefly come together after Al's accident. He had been the tractor one day after a downpour and the wheels had slipped in the mud on the hill. The tractor had tipped. He had nearly been crushed, but he didn't remember any of it. He had blacked out after striking his head on a rock. When he awoke, he found that the blow to the head had damaged his speech abilities in his brain. He was no longer able to speak the way he had before and was now slightly slow in both thought and speech. But, he was still able to get his point across in his sometimes small sentences.

Rachael had, of course—and for reasons unknown—blamed Helen and Henry for the accident, just because Al had been living with the newlyweds, and had demanded that Al come stay with Jacob and herself. Al had refused, saying that he like where he was. Rachael had left in a huff and never talked to Helen, Al, or Henry again. Jacob had, though, managed to stay in contact… up until his death, that is. Kaspian and Kenya, who were twelve and thirteen at the time—Kaspian being older—never got to talk to their aunt or uncles again…

Until Helen's funeral, that is, nearly three years later. Kaspian had been of driving age, so, against his mother's wishes, he drove himself and his younger sister to the funeral and both got to talk to their uncles again. They had been shocked when they learned that they had a cousin that they would never be able to meet. Their mother had told them that Helen would never have children, something about her being impotent. The siblings were appalled that Rachael had lied to them.

**FLASHBACK**

_It was raining cats and dogs. The funeral itself was relatively small, with only a few extremely close friends coming. The Bedderheads, Zeb, and Tennessee hadn't shown up—they hadn't been invited. Henry didn't want to listen to them argue at his mate's funeral. Albert was surprised that Henry hadn't at least invited Zeb. After all, he was Zeb's legal guardian. A father, of sorts, after he took him in._

_Henry was alone in the rain after the funeral, standing next to the casket, resting one paw on top of the polished pine lid. Tears were rolling down his semi-light brown cheek fur, mixing with the rain. He couldn't believe she was gone. She had died while protecting their three-year-old son, who had yet to be found. Well, at least he knew that he was safe and alive, but he just didn't know where the young cub was. Beary had been taken in by a human family after his mother had been murdered. He had run away from his mother's body and had somehow managed to find a ranger station; he had stayed there until a family had come to take him in later that day._

_Al and Roadie had watched the forty-two-year-old fall apart upon hearing the news that his wife was dead and his son was gone. He was **still** falling apart even as they watched him now from underneath a tree not too far away._

_"You need to speak to him, Al… I know you're hurting inside, but so is he… He's lost both Helen and Beary in one day…" Roadie said softly._

_Al sighed. "I know, Roadie… He lost his mate and I've lost my sister…" Slowly, he walked over to his younger brother-in-law, his movements slowed by his sadness. Finally, a few minutes later, he reached the brown bear and slowly put his paw on Henry's shoulder. "Hey, Henry…"_

_The brown bear jumped slightly before turning to look at his late wife's older brother. He didn't get a chance to say anything before he was pulled into a tight hug. The hug allowed him to finally release all the emotions he had been keeping bottled up inside of his heart._

_Al held him as he cried. He knew that sometimes, even guys had the right to cry._

_"Uncle Al? Uncle Henry?" two voices quietly asked nearly ten minutes later._

_The two bears looked to their left in surprise, only to see two bears, one with blue eyes and black fur, and the other with forest green eyes and a white face set in brown fur._

_"Kenya? Kaspian?" Henry whispered, wiping his eyes on the back of his paw as he moved away from his brother-in-law._

_The two teenage cubs, Kaspian, who was taller than his sister by a good foot, and Kenya, who had the forest green eyes and brown fur like her father and Aunt Helen; in fact, she was like a replica of the late twins, down to the very last detail, walked up to the two bears. Kenya was wearing a long black skirt and a dark blouse while her older brother just wore a black jacket suit. Kaspian had his arm around his younger sister's shoulders, his other paw holding a large black umbrella._

_They stood at a distance for a minute or two before Kenya broke away from her brother's grip and ran to her uncles, wrapping her arms around both of them at once. "I've missed you so much!" she cried._

_The two uncles embraced the she-cub, both shocked that she was there. "What… What are you doing here?" Henry asked, gently brushing her hair with his paw. "How'd you get here?"_

_"I drove," Kaspian answered, coming up to his uncles and giving each of them a hug. "**Against** Mom's wishes. Man, I can't wait until I'm eighteen. Then I'm taking Kenya and we're leaving her. Kenya can come stay with me."_

_Kenya nodded. "Neither of us can stand her anymore. She's gotten **way** worse since Daddy died." She looked down, tears in her eyes. "And now Aunty Helen is gone, too…"_

_"And so is your cousin," Henry whispered._

_The two teenagers looked at him in confusion. "Cousin?" Kenya questioned._

_"What cousin?" Kaspian demanded._

_Al looked at his niece and nephew in surprise. "You didn't know? Rachael never told you about Helen's son?"_

_"Aunty Helen had a cub?" Kenya questioned, surprised._

_Henry nodded. "He was three… I don't know where he is right now…"_

_"What do you mean?" Kaspian asked._

_"It… It's complicated," Roadie said, coming up behind them. "We'll have to tell you some other time."_

_Kaspian bopped fists with the human and grinned. "Hey, Roadie. How… How's life been?" He sighed and looked down. "That was a stupid question…"_

_Kenya sighed and wrapped an arm around her brother. "No it wasn't, Kassie."_

_"I thought I told you not to call me that."_

_"You did. But since when do I listen to you?"_

_The comment caused Henry to start laughing. "You two are **way** too much like your father and aunt."_

**END FLASHBACK**

This discovery of their cousin also caused a rift between mother and children, especially when they learned that their cousin was supposedly dead at the young age of three. They hadn't even known he existed, and now it was too late.

Since then, however, the two Hathworths kept in regular contact with their uncles. Things were never the same between them and their mother again. They did, in fact, leave her when Kaspian turned eighteen. He took custody of his sister, saying that their mother was dangerous. The courts sided with them and Rachel lost full custody. She would only be able to see her daughter every other weekend.

Al shook his head, bringing his mind back to the present time. Well, almost all the way forward. It stopped on the day of July 26th, 2002. The day that Beary Barrington, who, in reality, was the long-lost Beary _Taylor_, had literally walked **_back_** into Henry and Al's lives.

**FLASHBACK**

_It was just a normal morning. No, really, it was. The birds were singing, the animals making their sounds. An occasional car passed by the Hall on the long stretch of road that started at the highway and ended in Pendleton, none stopping to pay the humble music hall a visit._

_Then again, no one did these days._

_After the band had broken up about ten years ago, tourists would come by the dozens to see the building where the famous county band had once resided. As the years went on, less and less people began to show, until there was no one at all except for the occasional visitor that came about once or twice a year. _

_The money began to evaporate until there was next to nothing left. Well, Henry still had his business, but since the _Bears_ left, things had been going steadily downhill. If he couldn't find new talent, then he'd have to file for bankruptcy. The board of directors had wanted to sell the company, but he refused. When they tried to overthrow him, he had them fired. _Taylor Enterprises_ was his and Helen's business, and he wasn't going to let it die._

_The former board members hadn't cared about music in the end. All they wanted was money, money, money. They forgot about the joy of music, the life it took. That's why firing them and hiring new members wasn't that hard of a decision. _

_The rest of the money went to keeping up the fence around the _Taylor Wolf Pack's _forest. Sure, he had federal grants for that, but that didn't always cover it. _

_That's when Reed Thimple III arrived. Thimple was one of the world's most **annoying **and **persistent** bankers. He came one day with the news that if Henry couldn't pay the bills, then there was only one solution: The _Hall_ would either be torn down or sold. Unfortunately, a buyer had not been found in time and it was decided that the Hall was to be torn down._

_Henry, Big Al, and Roadie were going to be forced to find a new home._

_Yet, they still had all the acres Henry's family owned around the _Hall_. The thing that hurt the most was that even though they'd be able to rebuild their home, the _Hall_ was Henry and Helen's **home**. To lose it would be devastating._

_Al Hathworth sighed as he drove the tractor up the old dirt road that led from the barn to the fields, the lake, and another entrance to the forest. Up ahead, a greyhound charter bus was driving along the road; much to his surprise, it stopped right outside of the Hall. He didn't get to see anymore as he drove the tractor into its shed next to the barn and parked it, turning off the engine. He got down off the red machine and began to walk back to his home._

_"The people who owned the bank before didn't mind if I got behind in my payments a month or two. **They** cut me some slack!" he heard Henry argue._

_'_Oh, great. _He's_ back,' _Al thought silently to himself as he walked onto the porch. '_Wonder what he wants **this** time._'_

_"Uh-huh. How far behind are you right now?" Reed Thimple asked, his tone sarcastic and just a bit gleeful._

_"Uh… Six… years…"Henry grumbled._

_"**Six** years. 20,000 dollars. Must be tough," the human said, his voice filled with the fake sympathy that angered Al. "You had a good run, Henry, but good things must come to an end eventually. That also applies to lame, junky things like _Country Bear Hall_. Do you like the sound of crunching wood? I do."_

_Al arrived on the porch and peered around the corner at the two figures. He knew that Henry was holding back his anger, trying not to clobber the man that so rightly deserved it. Who could blame him if he did? The _Hall_ was his home!_

_Thimple noticed him staring and began to walk across the porch towards him. Al quickly disappeared back behind his corner and watched as the man, eyeing him, walked off the porch, heading towards his corvette._

_Al's ears pricked and his eyes widened slightly at the sound of a coin landing in a tin can._

_"Oh, like _**that's**_ gonna help," Reed Thimple said sarcastically as he made his way to his black corvette, quickly driving off._

_Al glanced off the porch and his eyes widened in disbelief. Quickly, he got off the porch, grabbing the dreaded "Pardon Our Dust" sign, and approached the _Country Bear Hall_ sign, where a young cub was standing, slightly shocked at the man's rude demeanor. The cub had a brown face so light that it almost appeared white in color and hazel eyes. He wore a gray jacket, blue shirt and baggy green shorts. One of his light brown paws was wrapped around a guitar neck, and on his back was a blue backpack._

_Hoisting the sign up, Al spoke, startling the cub. "If you're goin' to stand there, you might as well give me a hand." He then began placing the dreaded sign across the familiar welcome sign._

_"What's that?" the cub asked, his voice filled with confusion._

_Al looked at him in confusion. "A sign," the old bear sighed before turning back to his job. '_I would've thought that someone would know what a sign was…_'_

_"Yeah, but… "destroy"?"_

_'_Ah._' The older bear looked at the cub with some sadness in his eyes. "Yeah… Well, they're gonna tear down _Country Bear Hall_."_

_The hurt and anger that overtook the sweet innocence in the young cub's eyes saddened Al. The cub turned and looked at the _Hall_. "Tear down _CountryBearHall_?" he questioned._

_"Yeah."_

_The cub turned around and looking at the gray bear in disbelief and horror. "**Tear down** _Country Bear Hall_?!"_

_The anger in the cub's voice amused Al. At least there was one other person besides Henry, Roadie, and himself that thought the banker's way of getting the money owed to him was definite overkill. "Uh… Yeah…" Al looked up at the porch and saw Henry's disturbed expression. _'Whaddah ya know… Henry can see the same similarities that I can in this cub…_' he thought to himself._

_The cub looked in the direction Al was looking and frowned."Are you okay?"_

_Henry was pulled out of his thoughts with a start. "Huh?"_

_"I asked if you were okay," the cub replied, stopping on the bottom step. "You were staring for nearly a minute."_

_Even his tone reminded Al of his deceased sister, Helen._

_Henry shook his head slightly, shaking off her memory. "I'm fine, kid. You just… reminded me of someone, that's all," he quickly answered._

_"Oh," the younger bear replied as he scratched the back of his head nervously._

_Henry spoke again, hoping to make the kid less nervous. "My name's Henry Taylor. What's yours?"_

_"Beary Barr-" the cub broke off and looked down. "It's Beary… Just…Beary…"_

_The answer surprised Al. '_Just how many parents would name their cub "Beary"? It **_has _**to be him! It just **_has_** to be! Helen… Lil' sis… you guided your son home again…_'_

_"Well," Henry began, "Beary, you paid for a tour, so let's get started, shall we?"_

_Al watched in amusement as the young cub scurried up the steps towards Henry. Henry glanced back at Al with a slight smile._

_.~*~._

_Al had been in his adjoined home that he shared with Henry when he had heard Henry shout angrily before appearing in the doorway a few moments later._

_"What happened?" he questioned._

_"Dumb kid! Stupid idea! 'Get the band back together'. Bah," the Taylor growled as he threw his hat on the table._

_"You could do that," Al stated._

_"Ah, look. Even if we found them, a-a-a **concert**…!" Henry was pacing back and forth, pulling off his golden necktie and throwing it in the chair. "You need tickets and promotions and everything! I don't know…"_

_"I could do that."_

_"Oh, Al… Look. Let's face it. In a week from now, some teenager's gonna be teaching us how to operate a deep fryer." Henry looked down, his shoulders hung in defeat. He had given up on everything a long time ago. He turned and looked at Al with a sad expression._

_"We could do that," Al answered._

_Henry just looked at him incredulously. "Have you listened to a **thing** I've said?" he questioned._

_"Huh?"_

_"Just **what** are you thinking about?"_

_The elder gray bear didn't answer for a long moment. He looked out the window towards the pond, where he saw the cub sitting on a log, watching the scenery. He sighed before speaking. "What do you see when you look at 'im?" he asked, glancing back at his brother-in-law._

_Henry avoided Al's piercing blue-gray eyes, shifting his own hazel ones towards the floor. With a soft sigh, he answered. "I see a runaway cub that has no business being here. He should just go home where he belongs and take his ideas with him before… before he gets hurt." He glanced at the older bear, who was frowning at him with a hint of anger in his eyes. "Why? What do **you** see?"_

_"I see a cub with amazin' for'tude and who also is quite d'mure." Al glanced back out the window at the young cub and smiled softly. "In other words, I see Helen," he articulated. He glanced at Henry again, watching his response._

_The pepper furred bear stiffened at the mention of his late wife's name. His eyes closed and his breathing hitched. When he spoke again a few minutes later, his voice was of forced calmness. "Don't even go there, Al. You know as well as I that-"_

_"Your son did not die, Henry!" Al angrily stated, stomping his foot on the floor. "Helen may have, but _**not**_ your son! You know that!"_

_"And you know that I can't admit… I…" He sighed. "It's too late to do anything about it now, anyway. It's been too long… he's got a new family and friends. If I spoke up, it would just cause trouble for him."_

_The gray bear walked towards him and placed a gray paw on his shoulder. "It's never too late to reconnect with a child," he said slowly, his speech slurring slightly. "But if you never try, you'll never _**know**_."_

_"But what if that's not even him?" Henry whispered, glancing out the window at the cub. He knew what he said was a lie._

_Al laughed. "If you can't see that that's him, then you are **blind**, my friend."_

_This got a small smile out of the pepper furred before he frowned again. "But-"_

_"If my sister could see you now, Henry Dixon Taylor, she would be very disappointed."_

_Henry looked down, sadness clouding his eyes. He knew what the older bear said was true._

_"You know there is only one way, Hen. Do you really want this 'portunity to pass you by?" Al removed his paw from the younger bear's shoulder and walked back to his room. "Think about it."_

_Once in his room, he looked out the window again, watching the cub he knew to be his long-lost nephew lift his guitar from where it rested on the ground, its neck leaned against the log next to young cub. He watched as the cub, Beary—he **still** wondered why Helen had named him **that** of all things—began to strum the guitar. Al could hear his voice as he sang one of the _Country Bears_' songs, "_Where Nobody Knows My Name_"._

_He smiled when Henry, a few minutes later, walked towards Beary as the cub finished singing. His smile widened when he saw them talking. He left his room when he saw them begin walking back towards the Hall, both smiling. He had a feeling he knew what they were planning._

_On his way out of his room, he nearly ran into Roadie, who just walked into the "living" part of the Hall. "Al!" the human cried out, stumbling backwards slightly._

_"Go get the bus. You, Henry, and Beary is goin' to go get the band back together," the bear stated, not taking "no" for an answer._

_"B-Beary?" Roadie whispered, his eyes widening in shock. "Say that again."_

_Al, groaning, explained the situation. Once he was done, he could see Roadie's broad smile._

_"So, our missing prodigy has returned home at last," the long-haired human grinned. "Does he really look like Helen?"_

_Al, nodding, began to push the drummer out the door. "Get goin'!" he laughed._

_Roadie let out a small cheer before he sprinted towards the garage/shed._

_Al went to meet Henry outside on the porch with a knowing smile that only the former band manager noticed; Beary was basically looking around excitedly._

_Henry acknowledged his brother-in-law with a nod and a grin of his own. "Have you seen Roadie?" he asked, glancing around._

_"He's out in the shed," the gray bear replied, gesturing over his shoulder at the rickety old shed that looked like it was in serious jeopardy of collapsing at any moment. "He's bringin' the bus out."_

_Henry nodded and led the cub towards the shed. Al followed at a slower pace, wincing slightly with every step; his right leg was acting up again. His eyes suddenly filled with anger when he saw an animal on **his** grass up ahead. "Get off my grass!" he shouted, incredibly annoyed._

_Roadie raced over and bent down to scoop up the chicken._

_"He was makin' a mess on my grass!" Al complained almost childishly._

_"Sorry, Big Al," the human apologized, slinking back to the bus with his chicken._

_"Yeah," the bear grumbled as he examined **his** grass. Seeing that there was no "mess" on the green blades, he sighed and looked back at the bus._

_"Get the place ready for the concert, Big Al! I'm counting on you!" Henry called from the door just before it shut._

_"Don't you worry about nothin', Henry. You just go get them boys!" As the bus began to move, the gray bear quickly added, "Oh! And be careful of my-" His warning came too late as the bus drove right through his grass, leaving two deep, muddy tracks in the soft dirt. "-grass…" Al groaned, frustrated. He threw his arms up in the air before slamming his paws against his sides in exasperation._

_There was a loud creaking noise behind him, followed by a loud thud. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped in disbelief before he turned and saw that the shed had finally fallen over._

_He **definitely** had his work cut out for him._

**END FLASHBACK**

"Al?"

Al was pulled out of his thoughts by his brother-in-law's voice. He opened his blue-gray eyes and looked at the pepper furred bear in confusion. "What is it, Henry?" he asked.

"Are you aware that we're snowed in?" the band manager asked.

Al looked at his window and frowned. "Sure looks like it."

Henry looked at him blankly.

Al sighed. "Well, what do you want me to do about it?"

"Well, you can't do anything about the snow right now, but could you fix the electricity? It's out in here and the cabins."

The older bear thought for a long moment before nodding. "Might take me a while, though. I'll have to find where the short is."

"Thanks," Henry said, backing away from his friend's door.

Al just grinned before grabbing his orange and highlighter-yellow vest and green and white baseball cap. Then, he moseyed on over to the generator box in the main part of the Hall.

He had a job to do.


	24. Chapter Twenty-Three

.~*Chapter Twenty-Three*~.

Trixie St. Claire awoke to being overly warm. She blinked and attempted to move, but a pair of arms trapped her in the bed. It took her a moment to finally remember just who exactly had been sleeping with her last night. She turned her head and smiled softly at her boyfriend, wearing a white nightshirt, was snoring behind her, his body spooning hers. Both she and Tennessee were fully clothed—she was in pajamas like him. They hadn't done "anything" that night—or anytime in the past eleven years. He wasn't even supposed to have been in her cabin, but she had been sick with worry during the night, knowing what was to happen the next day.

She had been crying, knowing that her daughter was going to lose her best friend to the eternal sleep that is death, and had asked Tennessee to come over and stay with her. He had held her and rocked her to sleep as if she were a baby again, crying for her parents.

Beary Barrington Taylor was special, that much she knew. He was _definitely_ unique. If she didn't know any better, she would even go as far to say that he was an angel from above, sent down to live amongst the mortals and teach them all a lesson in the _true _meaning of family.

"_The people who care about you, no matter **what**? **That's** your family…_"

Beary's words still haunted her to this very day. Who would've thought that a _cub _could be so wise at such a young age?

She closed her eyes as the memory of when she first met this very wise cub surfaced…

**FLASHBACK**

_The bar was filled with cheers as she and Tennessee O'Neal finished their duet and embraced for the first time in ten years. Tears of joy came to her forest green eyes as her arms wrapped around him. She had missed him so, so much!_

_Ten years. For ten years, she had waited for this moment. For ten years, she had waited to be hugged by her boyfriend._

_"Tennessee…" she whispered. "I've missed you…"_

_"Trixie…" He held her at arm's length, looking at her with soft eyes that held a hint of anger in them. "Where… When… What have you been up too?" he asked._

_Trixie frowned. Should she tell him now about their daughter? "I've… been around…"_

_He was about to question her again, but a young voice interrupted things._

_"Hey, Tennessee! Hi, uh, Trixie!"_

_Trixie, startled, looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of sound. Her eyes widened slightly when she spotted a light brown cub walking up to them._

_Tennessee smiled. "Hey, kid. You definitely have a sharp eye," he chuckled. "I owe ya."_

_Trixie was confused. Who was this cub, and how on earth did Tennessee know him? Unless… No. She refused to think about it. He _**wouldn't**_… Would he?_

_The cub came closer and the she-bear let out a sigh of relief mixed with surprise. The cub looked **nothing** like Tennessee. If anything, he looked **exactly** like Helen Taylor. Henry Taylor followed the cub, placing a paw on his shoulder. To her surprise, Zeb Zoober and Fred Bedderhead were following not far behind. She figured that Roadie was probably out in the bus—she was so used to Roadie being out in the bus, so she didn't question her thinking._

_"Is… Is that Zeb? An-And Fred?" she questioned, looking at Tennessee as they stepped off the stage and walked towards the group. They met them at the door—the oncoming group had doubled back since Trixie and Tennessee were walking towards them._

_"Hey, Trix. You haven't changed a bit," Zeb commented, grinning from ear to ear. "Still as pretty as ever."_

_Trixie blushed under her fur and grinned at her old friend. "Thanks, Zeb…"_

_Tennessee frowned slightly at the comment. "Let's continue this outside," he said._

_"Uh… It's raining outside, Tennessee…" Henry commented. "That's why it's so dark out there… We've got a severe thunderstorm moving in."_

_Fred looked back at them from the open doorway. "It's really coming down out there…" The cub went over to the dark furred bear and looked out the doorway as well. Fred, after a few moments, walked back over to the group. Henry took his place beside Beary._

_Trixie watched the cub for a moment before looking at her old friends. "What are you guys doing here?" she questioned._

_"Well, Henry decided to try and get the band back together," Zeb answered, grinning. "To be honest, I've missed y'all."_

_"I've missed your crazy ideas, Zeb. It's been so boring on my trips, trying to find work," Trixie giggled. The fiddler frowned at her._

_Tennessee glanced at her. "Where exact-"_

_He didn't get a chance to finish before everyone's fur suddenly stood up straight, signaling the gathering energy for a lightning strike._

**ZAP!**

_There were startled cries and screams all around the bar as a bright flash—followed by a loud _**CRACK!—**_illuminated the doorway. The bar then went dark as the power gave out._

_Tennessee wrapped his arms around Trixie protectively; Zeb dove under the nearest table; and Fred just stood there, stunned._

_When the flash ended, about half a second later, Trixie blinked several times, trying to remove the spots that now danced across her vision. She looked around the dark building, ears flat as many of the bartenders grumbled and groaned, crashing into things._

_"Henry! Beary!" Zeb suddenly shouted, disappearing through the doorway, Fred not far behind him. A few moments later, they dragged two objects back into the bar._

_The bright flashes outside made a little light inside the building. Not much, but enough._

_Trixie watched in disbelief as the cub, trembling violently, sat curled up on the floor. He didn't respond to anyone, his eyes wide with terror._

_She felt as if she had to do something, so, following motherly instincts she thought she had left behind when she left her daughter with her sister and brother-in-law, she broke away from Tennessee and knelt next to the cub and wrapped her arms around him. "Hey… shh… It's okay…" she soothed._

_The cub leaned against her, still trembling._

_Henry sat up a few moments later and looked around in confusion. He placed a paw on his head and winced slightly. "What the heck happened?" he questioned._

_"You an' Beary just 'bout got hit by lightnin', Hen," Fred stated, glancing between Henry and the still-trembling Beary in Trixie's arms._

_"Freak accident, I would say," Zeb put in. "Odd that lightnin' would strike out in the parkin' lot when there are so many other spots…" He got up and went to the doorway for a moment, and then returned. "Looks like it hit a transformer. The whole neighborhood is dark."_

_"We… What?" The elder bear looked around immediately for the cub and let out a relieved sigh when he saw him. "Is… Is he okay?" he questioned softly._

_"I'm… okay…" the cub whispered, still trembling—a little less now—in the she-bear's arms. "Never want to do that again, though."_

_The adults all glanced at each other and grinned. Henry slowly stood up, with the help of Fred and Zeb, and walked over to the two bears. "Trixie, I don't believe we've introduced you to this one, yet," he said._

_Trixie glanced at the cub and smiled. "Nope."_

_"Beary, this is Trixie St. Claire. Trixie, this is Beary."_

_The she-bear grinned. "Hello, Beary."_

_"Hi, Trixie."_

**END FLASHBACK**

"Mmm… Trixie…?"

The sleepy voice of her boyfriend stirred the golden she-bear out of her thoughts. She blinked, turned her body, and looked into his tired, light brown eyes. "Hey, Tenny," she whispered, brushing a brown lock of hair out of his face. "Good morning, handsome."

He smiled and rubbed his nose against hers before pulling her against him and kissing her passionately on the lips as his paw ran up and down her back.

Trixie, accepting the kiss at first, immediately pulled away when the kisses became deeper and more hungry and sat up, leaving the comfort of his arms. "No, Tennessee. Not now…"

The brown bear looked at her in confusion before sitting up as well. "Trixie…"

She glanced back at him with tearful eyes before looking at her paws.

He blinked a few times before he remembered why he had been sleeping with her the night before. This wasn't like **_that_** night all those years ago when Jewel had been conceived. "Oh… yeah…" He shifted his body over towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist once more as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I… I can't believe it's finally happening… We've… We've given up on him…" she whispered as a few tears rolled down her cheeks. "We're giving up on someone who never gave up on us…"

"No… No, Trixie… We haven't given up on him…"

"Then **_what_** have we done?"

Tennessee thought for a moment, choosing his answer carefully. "We're goin' to let him have the rest he deserves, love. He… He can finally be with his mother… Helen will take care of her baby…" A few tears of his own rolled down his cheeks as he held her against him and rocked her side to side.

Trixie wrapped her arms around her waist, her paws resting on his elbows, and started crying.

The thang player softly sang to her, his own mind disappearing into his memories…

**FLASHBACK**

_"Oh, Trixie…" he bawled, sounding once again like a big baby. He missed her so much… They had been together for so long. Okay, it was only three years, but to him, that was a lifetime._

_There was a knock at the door._

_"Ah, come in…" he softly called, his voice tinged with sadness as he tried to stop the flow of tears._

_The door clicked open._

_Slowly, he turned around and his jaw dropped as his eyes widened in disbelief. Standing in front of him were three bears he thought he would never see again: Fred, Henry, and Zeb. There was a cub with them, but… he didn't really pay attention to him._

_"Don't tell me you're gettin' the band back together!"_

_Henry grinned and looked at the others with him before looking back at the marriage counselor. "Tennessee, we're getting the band back together."_

_The sweater-clad brown bear didn't say anything for several minutes and just stared at the assembled group in front of him. There was an awkward silence in the air._

_The cub looked at the other adults and frowned. "Uh…"_

_Tennessee interrupted him—in the time period he had grown up, cubs were to be seen and not heard. "When did you… Where…"_

_Zeb chuckled. "Lost for words, Ten?"_

_The former thang player glared at him. "Don't you have some honey to drink?"_

_The auburn bear growled at him._

_"Let's not start," Henry suggested, clearly annoyed. The cub moved over to Fred and stood next to him; Fred placed a paw on his shoulder._

_Tennessee rested his elbow on his desk and placed his head against his paw. "Seriously, what are you guys doin' here?"_

_Fred blinked. "Uh… Gettin' the band back together…"_

_The marriage counselor blinked and frowned. "Uh-huh…" He didn't believe them at all. Mainly because of the improbability of it all. The _Bears_? Back together? As if._

_"It's true, Mr. O'Neal," the cub said, taking a small step forward. "We're getting the band back together. So, if you would please come with us, we can be together."_

_Tennessee looked at the cub and his eyes widened slightly. Standing before him was a male Helen Taylor. _'No… wait… This cub had hazel eyes, not forest green._' The cub's eyes were wide and full of childish curiosity; they sparkled with innocence and wonder. His face, framed by light brown fur, was almost pure white with only a few hints of light brown. He wore a light gray jacket, black t-shirt, and green cargo shorts._

_He glanced at Henry and couldn't help but smile slightly. _'So _this_ is the cub Helen was pregnant with ten years ago… Well, he certainly has her looks, but has Henry's eyes. Good for you, Hen. You got the cub you and Helen wanted for so long. And from the way he talks, I'd say you did a _damn_ good job raising him.' _His eyes narrowed slightly when he saw the fearful look in the elder bear's eyes. Something was off._

_Henry looked away and glanced at the cub, who had since moved to the front of the desk and was now looking at the wall behind the brown bear with semi-wide eyes._

_The counselor turned his head and looked at the wall behind him, studying the four certificates of achievement and diplomas that stated that he was legally certified to practice counseling. He glanced back at the cub and grinned slightly at the look of awe on the young bear's face. "So, kid… What's your name?" he asked._

_The cub jumped slightly and looked at him in surprise. "Uh, B-Beary," he answered, suddenly looking nervous._

_Tennessee frowned slightly and he glanced at Henry, who was now avoiding his gaze. _'Beary? What kind of name is that for a _bear_?'_ he wondered. _'That's just stupid.'

_Fred's stomach growled just then, causing almost everyone to chuckle._

_"I'm hungry," the dark brown bear stated as his stomach growled again, only this time, it was joined by Beary's._

_Beary immediately looked embarrassed and shuffled his feet as he stared at the floor. "Sorry," he mumbled._

_Henry put a paw on his shoulder and chuckled. "I think we're **all** hungry, kiddo." He looked at Tennessee. "Well, this is your neck of the woods. Where's the best place to eat lunch?"_

_"Well…" The brown bear checked his clock and grinned. "It is my lunch break. We'll have to continue our "talk" over some of the best darn food on this side of the state of Tennessee."_

_Beary's grin couldn't have gotten any bigger…_

**END FLASHBACK**

"Tennessee?" Trixie asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. "You okay?" She was still crying softly, but not as hard as she had been.

Tennessee blinked. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You were pretty quiet… What were you thinking about?"

He sighed. "Travelin' down memory lane, to be honest," he replied softly. "Rememberin' when I first met Beary."

Trixie giggled slightly through her tears. "So was I."

"It… It's goin' to be so _different_ with him gone…"

"What Henry, Allison, Norbert, and Dex must be going through…"

She sniffled. "Jewel… She… She's going to lose her best friend…"

Tennessee gently rubbed his girlfriend's back. "It's bad enough that he… he's goin' to…" he broke off for a moment before speaking again. "He doesn't even know that Henry's his father… His **_real_** father…"

The golden she-bear blinked. "You know, I think he already knows. He knew that Jewel was my daughter."

The former counselor's eyes widened in disbelief and he choked back a startled cry. "W-What?"

"He came and asked me about it a year ago. He asked if I knew someone named Tasha Stone and her "daughter" Jewel Stone. I… I didn't answer him." She smiled softly. "He could see the similarities between us. I mean, a golden she-cub from two black bears? Not likely."

Tennessee chuckled. "I'm surprised that no one else noticed, let alone Jewel."

"Well, Beary can be extremely observant, you know."

"And yet he couldn't figure out that he was different from the Barringtons. He wasn't exactly blood-related—or species related—family."

"Tenny, don't you remember what he said? '_The people who love you no matter what? That's your family_', remember?"

"Oh, yeah… I forgot about that…"

They sat in silence for the next few minutes or so, both deep in thought. Finally, Tennessee spoke again.

"Why is it so dark in here?" he asked, pulling away from Trixie and reached for the nightstand lamp. Flicking it on, he waited for the light to come on.

Nothing happened.

"That's odd…" He flicked it on and off several times before checking to see if the bulb was screwed in all the way. "Well, that's not the problem…" He glanced at his girlfriend, even though he could hardly see her. "Trix, try the TV or phone. I think the power might be out."

Trixie did what he said and nodded in agreement a few moments later. "I think you might be right…" She blinked. "What time is it, anyway?"

Tennessee grabbed his cell phone—an early Christmas gift from his daughter—from the nightstand and turned it on. He cursed when the screen turned white, filling the once semi-dark room with light.

"Warn a bear before you do that, would ya?" Trixie hissed.

"Sorry." His eyes widened when he saw the time. "Trixie… It's three o'clock in the afternoon…"

"What? We were supposed to pick up Jewel hours ago!" The golden she-bear immediately jumped off of the bed and headed out the bedroom door.

Tennessee got up off the bed and followed her, adjusting his sweater as he walked through the cabin. He used his phone light as a flashlight and found Trixie standing in front of an open front door, staring at a white wall that was on the outside. "Trix?"

The golden she-bear glanced back at him with wide eyes. "Snow, Tenny… It's **_snow_**. We're snowed in."

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

Theodore Simon Bedderhead, wearing a dark green sweater, physically jumped when he heard a loud pounding at the door. He had been enjoying the peace and quiet, it having given him a time to think and write a few lyrics, something he hadn't done in a while. It was a sad song about saying goodbye. It was all that he could write the day after Beary had died.

"What the…?" he grumbled as he made his way to the door. He knew that the snow was piled up against the door, so he didn't know how someone was now pounding at the door. Opening it, his eyes widened in amazement at the sight of Big Al standing at the door with a shovel resting on his shoulder.

"Someone call for a rescue?" the groundskeeper asked, grinning from ear to ear.

Ted was too surprised to speak for a moment. When he was finally able to work his jaw again, he questioned, "How long have you been out there?"

"'Bout two hours. Lots a snow to go through. Henry's out clearing another path."

"Are you**_ crazy_**? Two hours out **_here_**?" Secretly, the lead singer was glad he was finally going to get out of his cabin. It had been a day since he had woken up in his bed, found that his cabin was completely dark, and that he was snowed in. He had immediately got out the emergency walkie-talkie that each cabin had, and called for help, only to find that everyone was in the same situation. Al had answered and said that he would get things fixed as soon as he could.

Yesterday, Al had gotten the electricity back on for all the cabins and the _Hall_. It had taken him almost all day to fix. Sadly, it had started snowing again, and Henry, who had been out shoveling, had been forced to retreat.

After that, everyone—in their own individual cabins [with the exception of Tennessee, who was in Trixie's cabin]—had turned on his or her TVs and went to the weather channel to find out what was going on. It was then that they all learned that power had gone out from Nashville to all the way past Shelbyville.

That's when they all knew that their youngest member was **_gone_**. He wouldn't have lasted long without the life support—probably only a few minutes, according to what Dr. Daka had said a few days ago. His body was too weak to support himself.

Jewel had woken up to a corpse.

Ted knew that Trixie and Tennessee were regretting their decision to let their cub stay the night with her best friend. Waking up with a corpse wasn't something any cub or child should **_ever_** have to go through.

The bears and Roadie also found out that Dex had disappeared in the middle of the night—apparently to go to the hospital; according to his caller ID on his cell phone, someone from there had called him, probably Jewel wanting a ride home from the hospital. Everyone just hoped that he had made it to the hospital before the roads closed and he hadn't gotten stranded on the side of the highway somewhere, freezing his butt off for the past two days.

"Uh, can I come in? It's kinda cold out 'ere," Al stated, drawing Ted out of his thoughts.

As his amber eyes refocused, taking in the present scene, Ted shuddered in the cold breeze. "Sorry. I spaced out there for a moment. Come on in." The black bear stepped back from the doorway, allowing the older bear to come on inside, shutting the door afterwards.

Al stamped his feet, dislodging some of the snow that was stuck to his feet and ankle fur. He leaned the shovel against the wall near the doorway and walked towards the armchair, immediately sitting down upon it with a sigh.

"I was just makin' some hot chocolate. Want some?" the black bear asked as he moved towards the small kitchen, where a teakettle was whistling loudly.

"Sure. That there would warm me right up, Ted."

As Ted bustled around the kitchen, grabbing another cup for the gray, he softly hummed the song the band had written for Beary the day he had been found. They had finally finished writing the actually music that would accompany the lyrics about three months ago, when they were still hopefully about the cub waking up.

A few days ago, they put the music away… Forever. Beary would never get to hear it, and it would be inappropriate to sing at his funeral. It was a song about their wishes for his life, future, and happiness, something he would never experience.

The singer shook his head to clear his thoughts and as poured the hot water into the mixtures that were in the bear-sized mugs. After stirring the now-liquid chocolate, he brought the mugs over to the living room portion of the cabin and sat down on the couch, handing a mug to his guest. "I don't mean to pry, but… How are you and Henry holdin' up?" he asked after a few minutes.

Al took another sip of his cocoa and spoke softly. "Keepin' busy helps. Mostly we don't talk 'bout it, but I know Hen thinks about it often. He just don't know how to express his feelin's. Then again, neither do I."

"Is he eatin', at least?" Ted could still remember the haunting memory from the two weeks that Beary had been missing when Henry either ate very little or refused to eat at all, having made himself sick with worry.

How could he forget that time? How could **_anyone_** forget that, to wipe it from their memories as if it never happened? The problem was that they **_couldn't_** forget. Those two weeks were hell for all of them, not just Henry; not that the six months after that weren't a nightmare, because they were.

"Yeah, he's eatin'. Told him I would glue him to a chair at the table if he didn't."

The Bedderhead couldn't suppress the chuckle that escaped his throat at the mental image he received from the comment. "**_That_** would be a sight to see."

Al grinned and chuckled as well. Taking another sip, his grin was replaced by a frown. "He mostly stays quiet and to himself. I try to get 'im to talk, but it's just not workin' out. He keeps holdin' that darn raggedy cat toy."

Ted blinked and looked at the older bear in confusion. "What cat toy?"

"Kitty," the gray furred bear said simply.

"Kitty…?"

"Kitty was my nephew's stuffed cat. Hen had brought her home one day to fix a tear in her neck. Roadie fixed it, but Henry never got a chance to take her back to his son."

"Why not?"

Al looked down with a sad expression. "The day he was goin' to take it back, Helen was found dead. That day he was to take it back, the cops showed up. Henry's life shattered…" The Hathworth's voice dropped out. He was unable to continue speaking about **_that_** day.

Ted understood the elder bear's silence and didn't press the issue further.

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

John "Roadie" Matthews was cold and hungry. He was lonely, too, but he refused to admit **_that_** out loud.

The bus was in the garage-like shed, which was snowed in, and Roadie was bored out of his mind. There was _nothing_ to do. He had been "imprisoned", for lack of a better word, in this hunk of metal and wooden shed for a couple of days. Thank goodness he had stashes of food and water hidden in the vehicle, and there was a bathroom in the shed.

Al and the others hadn't been able to dig him out yet, but they were getting close. In fact, they would reach him today. In a few hours, hopefully, he would free. As long as the weather held.

He sighed and paced back and forth in the bus, trying to stay warm. He had plenty of thoughts to keep him occupied.

_How was everyone going to cope now that Beary is gone?_

_Would the empty void in their hearts ever be whole again?_

_Why did all this happen to an innocent cub that had never done anything wrong?_

_Why did Henry have to suffer so much? First, he had lost his mate, and now his cub?_

_Why must the fates taunt the older bear? What did he ever do to them?_

_Is Helen taking care of her only son? Is Beary finally with his mother?_

_What about Jewel? How was she taking all of this?_

_Did Dex make it to the hospital?_

_How was Henry taking this? Was he eating?_

He sat down on one of the benches and leaned back, closing his eyes as he lost himself in deep thought. The human must've fallen asleep, because the next thing he was aware of was being shaken awake.

The drummer opened his eyes to the sight of Norbert Barrington standing above him. The man wore a thick, brown overcoat and a blue, knit hat. His cheeks were inflamed and his brown gloves were thick.

"Norbert?" Roadie questioned, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Are you ready to get out of here?" Norbert asked, grinning slightly. "We got food at the _Hall_, and blankets for everyone."

The long-haired human grinned and jumped up, all tiredness gone. "Hell yeah!"

The Barrington laughed and tossed the drummer a spare coat. "Come on, then. Let's get going. Ally's making pot pies."


	25. Chapter Twenty-Four

.~*Chapter Twenty-Four*~.

Beary Barrington had been sleeping on and off for the past four days. Renee Daka told the worried teen and she-cub that it was natural and of no cause for concern. It was his way of fully waking up after a long "night's rest". It was common in coma patients. However, during the few times he was awake, she would work on his physical therapy, making sure he could move his limbs and do a few small projects on his own, such as hold a glass.

While Beary had been asleep, however, many things had happened:

- The blizzard had ended early yesterday morning, but the roadways were still closed until further notice, and most of the city was without power. The telephone lines had been damaged and the cell towers iced up.

- The back-up generator was beginning to give out, probably due to an energy leak of some kind.

- Numerous helicopters—some medical, others privately owned or military—had come and taken patients to the hospital in the city.

- Beary, Renee, Jewel, and Dex—sans Johnny and Roy, who had been flown out with some of the patients—were the last people in the hospital that were to be picked up.

- A second blizzard arrived yesterday afternoon and grounded all aircraft before the quartet could be picked up, something they were all quite upset about.

They were stranded and the weatherman reported that this storm system was very large and could possibly last several more days. Perfect. Well, at least they had food, no matter how foul it tasted.

Jewel had watched her friend sleep from a chair that was pulled up next to the bed. Beary no longer need an IV, so he was free to be able to move both of his arms. Beary's left arm was currently stretched over his head while his right one rested at his side where the golden she-cub was currently sitting, holding his paw with her left one.

That was two hours ago, before she, herself, had fallen asleep with her head resting on the bed. Her snout was nestled in the crook of her right arm.

Beary smiled softly as he watched her sleep. He raised his left arm from above his head and brought the paw close to her head. As gently as he could, he brushed the semi-long golden locks out of her face.

"You know, you two are rather adorable together."

The light brown cub, whose skin had turned hot under his fur, looked at the door in surprise and saw a grinning Dex and Dr. Daka standing in the doorway. Dex was carrying a large tray as he and the young female doctor walked into the room. Renee Daka went to the side of the bed and moved the portable table into position above the bedridden cub. Dex placed the tray on the table and gently shook the golden she-cub's shoulder.

Jewel woke with a start and looked around in surprise and confusion. She sat up and removed her paw from Beary's while avoiding the amused look in her friend's hazel eyes. "I fell asleep, huh?" she asked.

The newcomers chuckled as they pulled two more chairs up to the bed.

"Yep," a voice replied in a whisper.

Jewel, Dex, and Renee all looked at Beary in surprise. He had managed to speak without a pained grimace. Maybe, just maybe, his voice was healing.

"Well," Renee spoke up as she raised the top part of the hospital bed so that Beary was now sitting up as well, "let's dig in. I hope you all like chicken noodle soup. It's all I could find that was edible from the kitchen. Honestly, why does hospital food taste so… cardboardish?"

"Probably because that's one of the main ingredients," Dex smirked.

The three youngens all nodded, picked up their spoons, and began to eat. While they ate, Jewel filled Beary in on everything he had missed in school and what's been going on at the _Hall_.

Dex grinned. "Hey, Jewel, you gonna tell him about your solo career?"

Jewel's eyes widened and she blushed under her fur. "Don't you dare."

Beary blinked. "Huh?"

His older brother laughed. "At the Christmas concert, Jewel decided to sing a solo. It was awesome."

"It wasn't _that_ go-"

"Are you kidding? Jewel, it was _amazing_!" the teenager complimented.

Beary grinned. "Of course it is. She's a great singer," he said softly, looking directly at her.

Jewel blinked and glanced at him in surprise, as did the others. Beary ignored them, however, and went back to slurping his soup. After a few moments, the others followed suit.

A few minutes later, Beary spoke again, his voice just a whisper. "When… When can I go home?"

Jewel slowly lowered her spoon back into her bowl and placed her paw on her friend's.

"As soon as you're able to walk without falling for at least five minutes," Renee answered, looking at him. "We'll begin working on it after lunch, if you want. If you work hard, you might be able to leave as soon as the roads are cleared. Unless we can get a helicopter out here."

Beary, Dex, and Jewel all let out cheer—Beary's cheer being softer and quieter than the others—causing Renee to smile.

"Finish your soup," the doctor grinned. "We have work to do."

"But first," Dex snickered. "There is one thing we **_must_** do."

Everyone glanced at each other uneasily when the teenager laughed evilly.

_.~*~._

Renee screamed as Dex let go of the wheelchair she was in. "I FREAKIN' HATE YOU, DEXTER BARRINGTON!" she shouted as she flew down the empty hallway at high speeds.

Next to her, Beary was laughing his butt off as he traveled down the hallway at the same speed as the young doctor. He hadn't had so much fun in so long!

As they neared the end of the hallway, both quickly put on their brakes and skidded to a halt just inches from the wall. Thank goodness for the makeshift seatbelts.

Renee shakily got up and glared at the teenager. "Why I oughta… Why did I let you three talk me into this? This is misuse of hospital property!"

"But it was fun," Dex snickered as he and Jewel arrived next to them.

The doctor shook her head and laughed. "Yes, it was fun, I'll admit." She glanced at him with an evil grin. "Your turn."

Dex's eyes widened and he immediately backed away as Renee advanced.

Beary and Jewel just laughed as the blond chased the spiky-haired teenager down the hospital.

_.~*~._

A week later, they were still held up at the hospital. The drifts were massive, piled up against the hospital second floor windows. No one had seen this much snow in a very long time. But at least the weather was finally calming down.

Since that time, everyone had worked hard to help the cub relearn to walk. It was trying work, but Beary was very determined. It was amazing how much progress he had made over the past two weeks.

However, him learning to walk again and do basic functions weren't the only problem he had. There was the depression.

He had been so upset learning that six months of his life had been spent in the hospital, and that the entire time, he had worried his friends and family. He wondered what they were thinking now. Were they angry at him for what happened? Did they hate him?

Renee, Dex, and Jewel all kept reassuring him that no one was angry with him and how happy they would be that he was home. How they had all prayed to the gods that he would wake. That no one blamed him for anything that had happened.

They hadn't been able to get through to anyone at the _Hall_ on either landline or cell phone. The towers and phone lines were still out.

Beary hadn't wanted to wear the hospital gown any longer, so Renee had found the clothes that the cub had come to the hospital in six months ago—they had been transferred with the young cub when he was sent to the new hospital that they were currently in. She washed them in the hospital laundry room and gave them to him. The cub had been overjoyed at the fact that he could wear his own clothing, though he did wonder where the hole in his left pants leg came from.

None of the other wanted to tell him what happened; he sensed this, and didn't speak of it again.

The eleven-year-old was quite firm in practicing his walking, running, jogging, and a little bit of skipping. Though it would hurt, he would only stop practicing when he was absolutely exhausted and had to be taken back to his bed in a wheelchair—and that was pretty much at the end of the day. His walking time was getting longer and longer with each day that passed, sometimes doubling or tripling in length.

"Come on, Beary!" Jewel encouraged her friend as he limped along in the middle of the hallway.

Beary grimaced at the strange pain in his left leg and continued limping. Renee had told him that it was natural after the injury he had received. It was then that he knew how he had gotten that hole in his shorts. He had been shot.

Brief flashes of memory filled his mind, causing him to stumble. He suddenly felt like he was free falling, but a pair of warm arms caught him under his armpits.

"Beary? Beary, are you all right?" Jewel questioned as she helped him sit on the floor against the wall. She looked around for Dex and Renee, but they weren't around. Both had gone outside to see if they could clear a path to Dex's car.

Beary had come far enough in his walking practice that Renee didn't need to be there every minute, and she had left Jewel in charge.

"I was shot, wasn't I?" Beary asked; his voice hadn't gotten any better and was only a mere whisper. He had been wondering about getting shot for a few days, but didn't want to bring it up.

Jewel stiffened as she sat down and leaned back against the wall beside him. She sighed and nodded. "How… How much do you remember?"

"It… It was dark… so dark. Strange faces. I was sick, I think. They hurt me… tied me up. Held my mouth close. Said… Said I was never going home!" He trembled and shook his head. "I… I remember walking… no, limping… I was trying to get away, but I don't know what from!" He pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his knees.

"Beary…" the she-cub began, but noticed that her friend wasn't listening, so she tried a different approach. "Lil' Bear…"

Beary grinned at the use of his old nickname. "You haven't called me that in **_years_**, Gram Cracker," he snickered.

She laughed and lightly punched him on the arm. "I told you never to call me that."

"So now we're even."

The golden she-cub giggled and rested her head on Beary's shoulder. After a moment, Beary's head tipped and rested on hers, silently taking comfort in her presence as his paw reached out and gently touched her. She responded by holding onto his, a small smile gracing her face.

After a few minutes, Jewel sighed and spoke. "Beary, when you were… shot… you were escaping from your kidnappers." She then proceeded to tell him everything she knew from what she had heard from her uncle, filling in a few empty places in his memories. It wasn't much, but at least it was something.

When she was done, they sat in silence for a few minutes. Beary finally spoke in a low, hushed voice. "Jewel… when… When I was in that coma… I… I think…" He broke off, unsure of how to continue.

She lifted her head and looked at him in concern. "Lil' Bear, you can tell me anything. You know that."

The light brown cub hesitated, then went on. "I think I saw my mom… My **_birth_** mom… She told me something… I don't know if it was just a dream or not."

"What did she tell you?"

"She told me about my father. She said I had already met him. So I told her the only other adult bears I've gotten to know, besides Tasha and James, was Zeb, Ted, Fred, Big Al, and… and Henry."

"What about-"

"Tennessee? Well, I already had my suspicions about the cub he fathered." He looked at her meaningfully.

Jewel's eyes widened. "How long have you known?" she asked in disbelief.

He smiled smugly. "A while."

"You and your curiosity."

They both laughed.

"So, you know the truth about your father…?" Jewel asked after a bit.

"That it's Henry? Yeah… It was… shocking… but I think I remember him, back when I was little. Just a few fragments, though. Playing with him, calling him Papa, wrestling… But the one thing I know is the music. He and Mama loved to sing, and there was a bit _Country Bears_ in there, too. Guess that's why I'm such a big fan. It… It was a way to remember, you know?"

Jewel placed her head back on his shoulder while he returned to resting his head on hers. '_You_ _have a gift, Beary…_' the she-cub thought, gently squeezing his paw.

They must had fallen asleep, because the next thing they knew, there was a voice calling their names.

"Beary! Jewel!"

Both cubs blinked sleepily and looked up.

Dex was running down the hallway towards them, calling their names. He skidded to a halt in front of them, grinning like a maniac. He held out both of his arms and hauled the two cubs to their feet.

"Dex? What's going on?" Jewel asked as she dusted herself off—who would've thought that the hospital floors could get so dirty?

"You guys wanna finally go home?"

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

Two weeks.

It's been two weeks since Christmas.

Dex and Jewel had been missing for two weeks—hopefully, Dex had made it to the hospital.

Beary's been dead for two weeks.

Their family would never be whole again.

No one really talked to each other anymore. The grounds around the _Hall_ became as silent as death.

Zeb no longer joked around.

Ted was cranky again. Well, _crankier_.

Fred just didn't know what to do. He'd sit away, messing with his instruments, cleaning them over and over again.

Tennessee would find a corner and cry.

Trixie would usually join her boyfriend.

Big Al kept himself busy.

Roadie just thought about life and death.

Henry would just stare lifelessly at a wall, never acknowledging anyone.

Allison and Norbert Barrington flipped through old picture books.

There was no **_life_**.

There was no music.

Only silence.

Yes, they did their chores, donning makeshift snowshoes and going outside, getting the heavy snow off their roofs before they collapsed. However, a section of the _Hall_ roof, the bit above the stage, had been sagging due to the weight, and just a few days ago finally collapsed inward. Fred, who had been standing on the stage at the time, had been buried, but thankfully not harmed.

After that, they had locked themselves into Henry's cabin, even though it was cramped. It was better than freezing in the main part of the building.

As they all settled down for dinner on January 8th, 2004, they could hear the sound of a helicopter flying overhead. They paid no attention to it, though, as they began to eat in silence. It was probably just another rescue mission. The noise, however, got louder and clearer with each passing minute.

"Is it just me, or does that sound like it's gettin' closer?" Zeb finally asked, rather annoyed that his meal had been interrupted. It was the first full sentence he had said in a while.

The barrier of silence among them was broken at last.

The sound increased until it seemed that the helicopter was landing right outside of the _Hall_.

Roadie groaned and got up from the table, making his way to the window. It did him little good, however, since the outside world was dark thanks to the snowdrifts piled up against the window. The fact that the sun had already set didn't matter.

Sighing, he went out to Henry's office, which led to the door of the cabin. They had moved all the snow out of the way so they could at least see the sun.

A few moments later, there was a bright light, and then the sound began to retreat. There was nothing but silence after that.

Roadie shrugged and sat back down. He didn't think anything of it. He hadn't seen anything, anyway.

"That was weird," Tennessee commented before he returned to eating his mince meat pie, courtesy of Allison Barrington. "This is delicious."

Allison blushed slightly and grinned.

The others were about to complement the chef as well, but a knock at the door stopped them from speaking.

"Who on Earth…?" Ted wondered aloud. He didn't have to wait long to find out his answer.

The door swung open and in walked Dex, covered from head to toe in snow. He stamped his feet, sending a layer of snow to floor, and groaned. "Man, it is _freezing_! I don't know how those two can stand it! They're out there, having a snowball fight of all things. Good grief! Not to mention that we all fell about three feet into a six foot snowbank. Dang pilot. Could have at least dropped us off somewhere warm. But noooooo. He had to get back. Dang cub for talking him into it, letting us jump out a few feet above the air."

No one moved. Everyone was staring at him with wide eyes and dropped jaws.

Dex blinked and pulled off his coat, hanging it on the coat rack. He shivered. "Brrr… I hate snow… Man, my car is gonna be rusted out by the time they get that parking lot cleared of the snow… Great…" He looked at the table and drooled. "Oh, my God. FOOD! REAL FOOD!"

Allison and Norbert stood up and began to approach him with wide arms. Dex held out his hands and shook his head. "I wouldn't recommend doing that. I haven't been able to take a real shower for two weeks. Stupid hospital."

"Ew…" the others groaned as they back away—they had all stood up after the Barrington adults had.

"Wait…" Fred began, his face scrunched up in confusion. "Who's havin' a snowball fight?"

The teenager looked at him in surprise. "Well, Renee's gonna come over tomorrow—she had to get to the other hospital—so that only leaves Jewel and Mr. Miracle."

Silence met his words as everyone glanced at each other in confusion.

Dex blinked. "You… You don't know? Didn't you read the note I left on my bed?"

"Dex, there was no note," his father replied softly.

"I could've sworn…You sure?"

"Dex," Ted interrupted, his voice filled with the hope they all felt. "Who is 'Mr. Miracle'?"

The spiky-haired teenager grinned. "Why don't you look outside and see for yourself? Unless they fell into a snowdrift. Man, those things are _huge_!"

The black bear frowned. "There's no point. It's pitch black out there."

"Just do it, Ted," Fred said.

"Fine, fine." The black bear walked to the door, pulled it open, and stood in the doorway, carefully scrutinizing the semi-dark outside world. It wasn't as dark as he thought it would be. In fact, it looked like early morning. Probably caused by the snow's reflection. Suddenly, something cold and wet hit him right smack dab on his nose. He let out a startled cry and backed up.

Zeb burst out laughing of Ted's face being covered in snow. The others joined in on his laughter as Ted wiped the snow off his face and threw it at the fiddler.

"Ha!" Ted grinned.

"Why I oughta-" Zeb broke off and the laughter died out in the room as two figures appeared in the doorway. One was clearly visible while the other was hidden in the shadows.

"Sorry," the shadowed figure whispered. "My bad."

"He was aiming for me, Uncle Ted," Jewel hastily explained.

"**_Uncle_** Ted? Since when do you call him that?" the other figure whispered again.

"Since I found out who my real parents were."

"And he **_lets_** you?"

"Yep. Awesome, right?"

"Incredible, actually. I wake up from a six-month coma and everything is topsy-turvy."

"Well then don't slip into six-month comas anymore, Lil' Bear."

"I'm not **_that_** short anymore, Gram Cracker. I'm taller than you now!"

"Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that. Maybe someday it will come true."

"And you **_are_** still a little shorter than her, lil' bro," Dex put in. "By, like, three inches, shorty."

"Why I—Dex! Stop agreeing with her!"

"Oh, give it up, Lil Bear. He's clearly on my side."

"You're mean, Gram Cracker."

"I told you to stop calling me that."

"And I told you the same thing. What's your point?"

Dex was laughing hard. "So nice to have you squabbling again."

"She started it."

Jewel stuck her tongue out at the shadowed figure next to her and stepped inside with him following close behind.

Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief at the incredible sight before them.

"It can't be…" Zeb whispered.

"It's impossible…" Fred commented.

"He's dead…" Ted softly stated.

Tennessee blinked several times as tears came to his eyes. He gripped Trixie's paw tightly.

Al couldn't find the words to say. His nephew was not only alive, but awake.

Henry's mind was blank. What could he say or think? He never thought he would see his son again. It was a miracle. Tears gathered in his eyes as he stared at the male Helen that stood before him and everyone else. He barely felt Al's paw on his shoulder.

Norbert's eyes were huge at the moment. "B-Beary…?" he whispered.

Allison whispered the same thing as her husband and at the same time as she took a small step towards her adopted son. "Is… Is it really you?"

The light brown cub that seemed to have grown two inches, slowly nodded. He looked so different now. He needed to put on some weight to replace what had been lost.

Jewel rolled her eyes and punched her friend in the arm.

"Ow! Jewel!" the cub whispered in annoyance.

"See? He's real."

"Haha, very funny. Jerk." The light brown cub glared at her before looking at his adopted mother with tears gathering in his eyes. "It really is me, Mom," he choked out in a whisper.

Allison took two more small steps before breaking into an all-out run towards her adopted son. Reaching him, she wrapped his arms tightly around him. "It's a miracle!" she sobbed.

Beary embraced the hug, crying as well. "I missed you, Mom…" he whispered.

This caused the others to move and surround the cub, all with tears in their eyes as they group-hugged him.

Henry stood back, just staring at the cub in shock.

Jewel stood away from the group with her parents—who had decided to hang back as well. She stood between them and watched the happy scene before looking up and speaking to her parents. "Our family is complete again."

Tennessee and Trixie smiled, leaned down, and kissed their daughter on either cheek, causing her to giggle.

"Yes, Jewel," her father replied. "Our family is complete again."

"Thanks to you," her mother finished.

Jewel blinked. "Me?"

"Well, kiddo, that night we left you at the hospital... I'm guessing that's when he woke."

The cub grinned. "He scared the heck out of me. I woke up and saw him looking at me. Just about fell off the bed."

Tennessee laughed loudly before he turned to look at the group, who had parted slightly as Henry finally made his way towards the eleven-year-old miracle cub.

The room fell silent as they watched the pepper furred bear walk towards the light brown cub. They all knew how important this moment was.

Beary looked up at the bear he had, for the longest time, thought was something like his _second_ father with eyes that held too many emotions. He still couldn't believe that Henry was, in fact, his **_birth_** father. He scratched the back of his head and said the only thing he could think of. "Uh… Hi, Dad. I guess I've finally come home," he said softly.

Henry froze in his tracks and stared at the cub with wide eyes. He wasn't the only one who stared at the light brown cub with wide eyes; everyone was in a state of shock.

"Who… What…" Henry began, his jaw hanging open.

"When, where, why," Beary finished, grinning slightly.

Jewel giggled.

Dex snickered slightly. "Beary, stop being a smartass. That's **_my_** job."

Norbert smacked his birth son over the head.

Tennessee glanced at his daughter. "Did you tell him?"

Jewel shook his head.

"I didn't tell him, either, you know," Dex commented, rubbing the back of his head.

"Mama told me," Beary went on, his voice still soft and breaking slightly, earning a small grimace from him.

Everyone, sans Jewel, glanced at Allison in confusion.

"I didn-" the human female began, but another voice interrupted her.

Beary looked at her. "Not Mom. **_Mama_**. My… My birth mother…"

Zeb dropped his coffee cup that he had just gotten from the table.

"H-How…? " Henry questioned, taking a small step towards him.

The Barrington/Taylor cub opened his mouth to say something else, but all that left his throat was a pained whine as his paws immediately went to his neck. Tears sprang to his eyes and he stumbled slightly.

Before anyone could move, Jewel broke away from her parents and rushed to his side, catching him before he could fall. "Easy, Beary," she whispered as she guided him to a chair that Dex pulled out. Once he was seated, she gently began to rub the front of his throat with two of her golden fingers. She sat down on a chair next to him and held one of his paws with hers while she continued rubbing his throat, whispering soothing words. She glanced up at Henry, who was standing on Beary's other side. "Take his other paw and keep it out of my way."

Henry, startled, did as he was told and gripped his son's left paw.

"What the hell?" Zeb asked as everyone once again surrounded the cubs and watched Jewel massage her friend's throat.

Dex looked at them all sadly. "His vocal cords were damaged. Renee says that it's a miracle that he can even talk." He clenched his fists. "She doesn't think he's going to ever sing again."

The room fell into a stunned silence as all eyes, some filled with tears, just watched the scene in front of them.

No one could speak.

No one knew what to say.


	26. Epilogue

.~*Epilogue*~.

**_Saturday, May 29th, 2004_**

So much had changed since January 8th. While Beary continued to recover from his long ordeal, he stayed with his birth father, Henry Dixon Taylor, at the _Hall_. Sometimes, though, he would go and stay with his adopted family.

The reasoning behind him staying with his father and the _Bears_ was so he could get reacquainted with them, especially his father. Yet, every two weeks he would go back to Nashville to be with his adopted family.

Jewel had to go back to school, but she would come and visit him every day and fill him in on what she learned at school that day. She helped him catch up, which he did rather fast; in fact, he was finally able to start working on second semester stuff about halfway through February. No one could believe how hard he worked so he could be seventh grade in the fall with Jewel. He would have to take summer school to finish, but no one cared. He wouldn't be held back.

Everyone was willing to help him. Even the teachers would come pay him a visit on the weekends and teach him.

Back in January, almost two weeks after Beary had come home to the _Hall_, everyone found out something that changed their lives forever: Beary was an epileptic.

Whatever had been in the poison that had been in his system for five months, slowly killing him, had messed up something in his brain. His attacks were violent and could be deadly. In fact, his first attack had stopped his heart. It was only because Henry had been with him at the time and knew how to perform CPR that he lived. No one else had been around.

From that day forward, Beary was forced to take medication every day to prevent his seizures and he had to wear a medical bracelet on his wrist stating that he had epilepsy.

Sometimes he would still have a seizure; however, it would be minor.

Everyone kept an eye on him and constantly asked if he remembered to take his medication. After two months of the same question being repeated and being watched so much, he finally snapped and ran off. It was utter pandemonium as the _Bears_ searched high and low for him. They finally found him sleeping under a large tree a few hours after he had disappeared. Somehow, he had been camouflaged and hidden in the tall grass that surrounded the tree trunk.

After that, he was given some space.

Sometime in April, Beary started having nightmares. They weren't so bad at first, but as the months went on, they got worse. Sometimes, his screams would wake everyone in the general area.

On the 25th of May, Beary finally heard the song that the _Bears_ had written for him. They gave it to him as a birthday present. He loved it and would listen to it often.

_I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow  
And each road leads you where you want to go  
And if you're faced with the choice and you have to choose  
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you_

_And if one door opens to another door closed  
I hope you keep on walkin' til you find the window  
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile  
But more than anything, more than anything_

_My wish for you  
Is that this life becomes all that you want it to  
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small  
You never need to carry more than you can hold_

_And while you're out there gettin' where you're gettin' to  
I hope you know somebody loves you  
And wants the same things too  
Yeah, this is my wish_

_I hope you never look back but you never forget  
All the ones who love you and the place you left  
I hope you always forgive and you never regret  
And you help somebody every chance you get_

_Oh, you'd find the gods' graces in every mistake  
And always give more than you take  
But more than anything, yeah more than anything_

_My wish for you  
Is that this life becomes all that you want it to  
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small  
You never need to carry more than you can hold_

_And while you're out there gettin' where you're gettin' to  
I hope you know somebody loves you  
And wants the same things too  
Yeah, this is my wish, yeah yeah_

_My wish for you  
Is that this life becomes all that you want it to  
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small  
You never need to carry more than you can hold_

_And while you're out there gettin' where you're gettin' to  
I hope you know somebody loves you  
And wants the same things too  
Yeah, this is my wish  
(My wish for you)_

_This is my wish  
(My wish for you)  
I hope you know somebody loves you  
(My wish for you)  
May all your dreams stay big  
(My wish for you)_

Today was a _special_ day. It was the anniversary of two events, one good and the other bad: One year ago exactly, Beary had been kidnapped as part of a revenge plot; the second was the nine years ago, Beary had been taken in by his human family after his birth mother had been murdered the day before.

Beary and Henry walked the grounds of the music hall, silently enjoying each other's company as father and son. They had gotten much closer over the last few months, especially after Henry discovered that his son was extremely ticklish, courtesy of one Jewel St. Claire.

After a while, Henry, wearing his traditional green velvet vest and gold tie, but without the hat, had had enough of the silence. "So… Twelve already… Time flies."

"Yeah," the cub, wearing black cargo shorts, a blue t-shirt, and his trademark gray open hoodie, replied. His voice was still soft, just barely above a whisper. Even though it had been six months, his voice wasn't getting any better. He had a feeling that what Renee had said was true: He wasn't going to sing again.

His father put a paw on his shoulder. "If only your mother could see you now… See how much you've grown, Beary… She would be so proud of you. You've become everything she wanted you to be."

Beary looked up to the semi-clear blue sky and smiled as he felt a pair of ghostly arms wrap around his shoulders. "I think she's **_been_** watching over **_both_** of use for a long time, Dad."

Henry smiled as well as the scent of roses filled the air. '_Helen…_' he thought. '_You are here…_'

'_I never left, Hen. I never will._'

"I think you're right, kiddo. I can feel her here with us right now," the fifty-one-year-old stated softly. "Smiling and laughing."

The cub smiled, leaning in close to him. Beary hesitated before speaking again. "Um… Dad?"

"Huh?"

"Was… Was I **_unwanted_**? A... A **_mistake_**?"

The elder bear stopped walking and looked at his long-lost son in surprise and horror. "No, Beary! Never think that!"

"Then why was I born when you were thirty-nine? Didn't you, you know, want cubs before then?"

Henry looked him in the eyes. "We would've loved to have more cubs, Beary, but we couldn't."

"What do you mean?"

"Some things happened. When your mother was younger than you are now, she was in a car accident. They had to remove one of her fallopian tubes, something necessary to have cubs." A pained look crossed his face and a single tear dripped down his face. "A… a few years later, when I was at war in Vietnam, she… she lost the other one."

Beary looked at him curiously. "You were in Vietnam?"

"Mhm. Got drafted the day after our wedding."

His eyes widened. "Well… that… that sucks."

"It did. But at least I made a good friend… or at least I thought I did."

"Who was it?"

"Some guy named Raymond Falco."

"Falco?" He frowned. "Did he, by any chance, have a daughter named Jade?"

Henry blinked in surprise. "Actually, yes… Why?"

He shrugged. "No reason."

The father shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Anyway… Neither of us wanted to believe that there was no chance of her having anoth… a cub, so we kept trying for one."

Beary caught the "another" word his father was about to say, but shook his head and continued listening.

His eyes were brimming with tears as he remembered. "For twenty years we tried. Every chance we got." He sighed. "Finally, we… we lost hope. We realized that we were never going to have any cubs. It broke her heart."

Beary looked at his father in confusion. "But… Wait. What?" He blinked. "Where did I come from, then?"

The elder bear chuckled. "You, kiddo, were the miracle we had always wanted. To this day, I have never figured out how it happened. After twenty years, we were finally going to have a cub. We were going to have **_you._**" His smile overtook his face. "You know, if you had been a girl, your name would've been 'Miracle'." He refused to think of just how much of a miracle the cub had been. He hadn't been born on time. He had been late. Helen had nearly died giving birth to him. Even his being conceived had been a miracle.

The cub just blinked.

"I still remember the day Helen told me that she was pregnant as if it were yesterday…"

**FLASHBACK**

_Thirty-nine-year-old Henry Dixon Taylor was dozing somewhat peacefully on the couch. Too much had been going on lately. The _Bears_ were arguing again. Zeb had been arrested for DUI of Honey consumption and they had to bail him out of jail. The judge said that the next time it happens Zeb would be locked away for a long time._

_Henry and Helen had already gotten after Zeb for it, but they knew he was an adult and had to make his own decisions. All they wanted was for him to make the right ones._

_Actually, this was the first bit of sleep the band manager managed to get in for a while. With all the arguing that had been going on, and with his wife of twenty years, Helen, not feeling well for the past two weeks… It had been hell on Earth._

"_HENRY!"_

_Henry's eyes shot open and he jumped out of his chair in surprise. The desperation in his wife's voice caused him to run as fast as he could towards the bedroom._

_Helen was sitting on the edge of the bed, the phone cord hanging limply from her paw, the phone touching the ground. Her eyes were filled with tears and her shoulders shook with silent sobs._

_He moved as fast as he could towards the bed. "Helen, what is it? What's wrong?" he demanded._

_She looked up at him after hanging up the phone. "You… You remember that I went to the doctor yesterday, right? To get some tests done so we could figure out why I wasn't feeling well?"_

"_Yeah…"_

"_They just called back with the test results."_

_Fear immediately filled Henry's heart. _'Oh, gods... Please don't let her have cancer,_' he silently prayed. _'Please… I can't lose her…'

"_Henry, I… I'm pregnant."_

**Nothing**_ could have prepared him for _**that**_ statement. Never in a million year would he have guessed _**that, **_because it was not possible. They had tried for **twenty years**. Her fallopian tubes were gone! Why was it happening now? Had… had what Dr. Bunsen done really worked?_

"_W-W-What?" Henry choked out. "Run that by me again. Did you just say-"_

"_That I was pregnant? Yes! That's why I'm crying! I can't believe it! Dr. Milford couldn't believe it, either! Henry, it's a miracle!"_

"_Are they sure?"_

"_They checked and triple checked the results. They're positive about it. I have another appointment next week to confirm it."_

_The father-to-be pulled his wife up from where she was sitting on the bed, picked her up bridal style, and spun around, yelling in excitement. He no longer felt middle-aged. He felt as if he was nineteen and newly wed to his lovely wife._

_Helen was laughing loudly as she wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and kissed him on the lips._

_Henry stopped spinning and fell back on the bed, lying sideways as he continued to kiss his wife. Helen's kisses got more hungry and Henry slowly rolled on top of her. Moments later, they lost themselves in a blissful love-making._

**~Time Skip~**

"_Al, how would you like to be an uncle?" Helen asked her older brother. Doctors had confirmed the pregnancy earlier that day, much to the Taylors joy. The doctors had called it both a miracle and a scientific impossibility._

"_I already _**am**_ an uncle, 'member?" Al looked at them with confusion and suspicion. "Dang flabbit, is Rachael pregnant again? I woulda figger'd two cubs were enough."_

_Henry's arm was around his wife's shoulders and he was grinning broadly. "Rachael's not pregnant, Al," he said._

"_Jacob is? Odd…"_

_Helen started laughing loudly and was joined by her husband. Through her tears of laughter, the she-bear managed to speak. "No, Al. I am."_

"_You are what?"_

"_Pregnant."_

_"Who is?"_

_"Me, Al."_

_"You are what?"_

_"I'm pregnant. Henry and I are going to have a cub."_

_For a long moment, the gray bear didn't say anything. He just stared at the couple with wide eyes. "Are you sure?" he finally asked._

"_Dr. Milford confirmed it this morning. He doesn't understand how it managed to happen. Frankly, neither do I. They told us years ago that-" She didn't get a chance to finish the statement as she was engulfed in a large hug from her adopted older brother._

"_I'm so happy for you both," Al said as he shook Henry's paw while still hugging his younger sister. "How far along are you?"_

"_Little over half of a month."_

"_Have you told Jacob?"_

_Helen laughed and pulled back from the embrace. "I told him earlier."_

_Al looked hurt. "You told him before me?"_

"_Al, he's my twin brother. We share a mental link, remember? He called earlier and asked what I was so excited about..."_

**END FLASHBACK**

"How did the guys take it?" Beary asked when his father finished.

Henry laughed. "Believe it or not, but Zeb was the one who figured it out."

"No!"

"Yup. Of course, he was drunk again, but he somehow managed to make the connection before anyone else."

Beary laughed for a while before asking something that he had been wondering for a long time a few minutes later. "What… What was Mama like?" he asked softly.

Henry had been expecting this for a while, but hadn't expected Beary to just blurt it out. "Well… uh…" He hesitated as he tried to find the right words. He sighed and prayed for guidance. "Helen… Well, she was a lot like you, son. I mean, you act just like her."

"I do?"

Henry laughed and wrapped his arm around his son's shoulders. "Yes. Very much so. Every time I see or hear you talk, or see the way you act, it's like seeing her again."

A hurt expression crossed Beary's face. "Am… Am I just a replacement for her?" he softly asked, unable to hide the betrayal in his voice as he began to walk away, moving fast.

Henry's hazel eyes filled with confusion before widening when he realized just what exactly he had said. "Beary! Wait!" the father called, chasing after him. He caught up to the cub a few moments later when the cub knelt down on the ground next to a tree trunk and stared at the ground. Kneeling in front of his son, he put a paw on his shoulder, stopping the twelve-year-old from moving away and, with his free paw, gently cupped him under his snout and lifted his face until Beary was forced to look into his father's eyes. "That's not what I meant, Beary."

Tears were running down the cub's cheeks as he looked into the eyes that looked the same as his own. "Then what **_did_** you mean?" he asked.

"I meant that you have her strength and courage, kiddo."

"Huh?"

"Not just anyone would be able to go through what you went through for two weeks and still be able to fight back, kiddo." He drew his son in for a hug and let him cry against his chest. He knew that Beary had been holding in his emotions for **_way_** too long. "Hey… Hey, it's okay…" he whispered as he gently rubbed his son's back. "You're a fighter… Just like her. You love music, she loved to sing. The one thing you're not is a geek."

Beary blinked. "A geek?"

"Oh, yes. Your mother loved comic books with a passion. There was one show she adored as well, when she could watch it. _Doctor Who_, I believe. I swear, she was always running around with a superhero cap strapped to her shoulders. Helen was one grown child."

The young Taylor laughed through his tears and listened to his father tell more about his mother and some of the trouble she had caused.

After a few minutes of tears that had begun to lessen, Henry smiled, removed his arms from around the cub, and poked his son in the side.

Beary immediately shrieked and tried to squirm away. "No! No, no, no, no!" He squealed, his throat hurting slightly, as his father continued to tickle him with no mercy. "Ah!" He couldn't stop laughing. "S-Stop it!"

Henry's laugh was slightly deep as he laughed loudly and continued to tickle his son, who was now rolling around in the dirt. "Oh, you asked for it, kiddo!"

Beary's squeals and loud laughter echoed across the property grounds.

From behind a nearby tree, Jewel St. Claire, wearing a pair of baggy jean shorts and a silver halter top with her ankle-length black coat, which she had unbuttoned, giggled as she watched the father and son. '_Hm… Maybe I shouldn't have shown the others that Beary was ticklish… Oh, well._' She was happy to see them getting along so well. After a few minutes of watching her friend be tickled-tortured, she left her hiding place and walked towards them. "Hey, Beary!"

Henry finally stopped tickling his son, who was still laughing loudly, and turned to look at the she-cub. "Afternoon, Jewel," he said as he helped the madly giggling Beary sit up and brushed the dirt off of his gray jacket.

"Hi, Jewel," Beary said as he quickly wiped away his tears of laughter. He smiled broadly as he carefully got up and finished dusting himself off. He then helped his father stand before turning to his friend again.

Henry grinned, happy to see his son smiling again. "Well, I'll just mosey along, you two. Don't go off the property. And stay away from that fence. Don't need you barbequed."

"We won't!" the cubs promised before running off, heading towards their "secret hideout."

Their hideout was an old tree house they had discovered a few months ago. It had been in disarray, so they spent the next few weeks secretly repairing the walls, roof, and floor. They replaced the rotten boards with any bit of wood they could find, and also replaced the planks that were nailed into the tree trunk.

Though the adults had wondered where the two cubs would disappear to for hours on end, they had yet to find the tree house.

Big Al had complained about his 2x4s disappearing, but they had a feeling that he knew where they were disappearing to.

Climbing up the ladder, Beary smiled as he looked around the interior of the tree house. It was large enough to fit four adult bears inside of it comfortably. They had filled it with pictures, magazines, blankets, pillows, CDs, a CD player, snacks, drinks, and some sheet music. If they had to, they could survive a couple of day up there.

He sat down on the floor and laid back against the pillows as Jewel climbed the ladder. His left leg was bothering him again, throbbing painfully; he rubbed it, but it did little good. It only hurt when he strained it too much, which wasn't often, considering the others tended to baby him sometimes. He didn't like being babied, but he didn't want to hurt their feelings by denying their help. The only ones who didn't treat him any different were Dex and Jewel, something he was grateful for.

Jewel closed the trapdoor and settled down next to her friend. Watching him rub his leg, she sighed. "Leg hurting again?"

Beary nodded and grabbed a blanket with his right paw, for it was cool for a May afternoon. Jewel snuggled up next to him, wrapping her half of the blanket around her golden frame. She placed her head on his shoulder and sighed with content as he rested his head on hers and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Beary?" she softly asked after a few minutes.

"Hm?"

"We're always going to be friends, right?"

He blinked. "Yeah, of course. Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." She sighed and closed her eyes. '_Why can't I just tell him how I feel? Why is it so hard?_' she wondered.

Beary must've sensed her dilemma, because he spoke again, and what he asked surprised her. "Jewel, do… Do you **_like_** me?" He knew she had been acting strangely over the past few months. He had as well, and rather embarrassed, had gone to ask Ted about girls. Ted had laughed and said that he had won the bet. Beary had quickly left.

Jewel stiffened and her breathing quickened. Her heart felt like it was about to explode. This was her chance! She lifted her head and looked him in the eyes. Opening her mouth, she prepared to speak, but no words came. After a minute of her mouth hanging open and making her look like an idiot, her eyes filled with tears and she looked down. '_I'm a coward._'

He smiled softly and gently cupped her under the chin, raising her head so he could look into her eyes. His own heart was pounding as he whispered, "It is okay, Jewel… I can tell you feel the same way I do." He gently pulled her head towards him and softly kissed her on the lips.

Pulling away a moment later, he spoke, his voice louder than before. "I **_like_** you, too."

Jewel was startled. She hadn't expected him to like her back, and she **_certainly_** hadn't expected him to kiss her.

Beary looked at her in concern. Her reaction was not what he had been expecting. He had just blown his chances with her. Probably his friendship, too. Shuffling away, he looked down. "I… I guess I was wro-" He didn't get a chance to finish before a pair of lips locked onto his. His eyes widened for a moment before closing. His paws found themselves moving up to the she-cub's golden cheeks and staying there, holding her in place.

Jewel closed her eyes as she kissed him. She loved the sensation of his soft lips on her own and the feel of his nose rubbing against hers. She reached up and placed her paws on his cheeks as well and just kept kissing him.

They were forced to break the kiss a minute later, both needing air. They looked into each other's eyes before they embraced.

"I've waited so long to do that for so long, Beary," Jewel whispered as they returned to their former positions of her head on his shoulder and his head on her head with his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Same here, to be honest."

They sat in companionable silence, their eyelids beginning to droop several minutes later.

"Beary?" she asked after a few minutes of eyelid drooping, stifling a yawn. She shifted slightly, laying down beside him and once he joined her, lying her head on his chest with his arm around her.

"What?" His voice was back to being soft. He gently kissed her hair, settling beside her and making sure she was comfortable.

"I wish this moment would last forever."

He smiled as his eyelids closed. "I know, Jewel. Me, too." He tightened his grip on her shoulders before he fell into the land of sweet dreams.

All of them revolved around Jewel.

_.~*The Country Bears*~._

Trixie St. Claire looked out the rain-streaked window with a worried frown as thunder and lightning crashed overhead. The forecast called for severe storms from late afternoon/early evening until late at night.

That wasn't what worried her, though.

Beary and Jewel had been missing for almost five hours. The last one that had seen them was Henry, and that was around one o'clock that afternoon.

"Did you find them?" she asked, doing nothing to hide the fear in her voice as she turned to the opening door.

Zeb pulled off his hat and squeezed it to get rid of the excess water. "Nothin'," he said softly, his voice filled with undeniable fear. "They aren't out in the barn."

"They aren't out in the garage, either," Roadie commented as he walked in.

"Nor the bridge," Fred stated, walking in behind the drummer.

"Or the shed," Ted said as he came in after his brother. "Big Al's lookin' in the cabins and Henry and Tennessee are still searching out by the trees,"

Trixie frowned and grabbed her raincoat from the coat rack. "I'm gonna go help them look. Don't try and stop me, Zeb, unless you want a broken jaw."

The fiddler backed off as the determined she-bear left the _Hall_ into the stormy night.

_.~*~._

Beary awoke with a start at the sound of a loud **_crash _**overhead. He glanced out the tree house window just as a bright flash of lightning blinded him for a moment. Next to him, Jewel let out a whimper of fear. He looked at her, having forgotten that she was there, and saw that she had curled up next to him, burying her face in his side as she trembled with fear.

He mentally cursed himself for forgetting that Jewel was terrified of thunderstorms.

"Jewel! Jewel, it's okay!" he shouted over the loud roll of thunder, trying to calm her down. "I'm here, Gem!" He gathered her up in his arms.

The she-cub looked up at him in surprise. "G-Gem?" she whispered.

"Anything wrong with it?" he asked, trying to distract her from her fear while he grabbed another blanket and wrapped it around both of them.

"Well, no… It was just unexpected, C-Bear."

"**_C-Bear_**?"

The she-cub winced at the next loud clap of thunder. Beary leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "Hey, it's okay, Gem…" He lifted her up slightly and wrapped his arms around her upper body, holding her tightly against him. "Shh…"

"**_BEARY! JEWEL!_**" three voices shouted over the thunder.

"**UP HERE**!" Beary shouted back before letting a high-pitched whine escape his lips as white-hot pain burned throughout his throat. It hurt more than it ever had before. He tried to speak, but no words came out. No sound whatsoever.

A few minutes later, the trapdoor was pushed in and Trixie's head appeared. Her forest green eyes were filled with surprise as she looked around the interior of the hideout before the sharp eyes locked onto the two forms of the huddled cubs. "How long have you two been up here?"

Beary tried to answer her, but brought his paws to his throat and whined again as pain shot through it once again.

"M-Mama?" Jewel whispered, wincing as another clap of thunder echoed overhead. "I… I'm scared…" She let out a frightened cry and Beary held her against him tightly, trying to protect her from the storm.

The golden she-bear smiled sympathetically. "Come on, you two. Tenny and Henry are waiting on the ground."

Jewel shook her head. She refused to move; she was too afraid.

"You want to be up here when it gets worse? And yes, it is going to get _much_ worse."

The she-cub whimpered and shook her head, but still refused to move. Beary looked at Trixie before looking back at Jewel. He slowly began pushing his friend towards her mother. Jewel began squirming, trying to get back to the safety of his arms.

"Jewel," he rasped, his throat filled with what felt like a million sharp knives. He knew he shouldn't be talking, but he had to. "Go."

Trixie didn't say anything, but climbed down the planks to the ground when her daughter finally nodded.

Jewel slowly inched towards the trapdoor and tossed hers and Beary's blankets down. She looked back at Beary for a minute, her eyes filled with fear.

Beary leaned forward and quickly kissed her lips. "G-Get g-going."

She blushed under her fur and nodded before slowly making her way down the planks.

He was next. His leg was still hurting, but he paid no attention to it. He was about halfway down, still a good fifteen feet off the ground, his left leg cramped up just as he was placing it on one of the slippery planks. As an immediate response, he reached down with **both** paws. It proved to be a horrible mistake.

The next moment, Beary was freefalling through the air and hit the ground hard. He had, somehow thinking he could land on his feet, managed to land mostly on his left leg and immediately screamed as white-hot pain shot through the limb, spreading quickly throughout his entire body.

Jewel let out a terrified shriek when she saw him fall. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as her new boyfriend fell through the air. Around her, the adults immediately moved to catch him, but were too late and he hit the ground. Her mother held her back as she tried to move towards her friend.

Henry and Tennessee were at the screaming cub's side in an instant. "Whoa! Beary! Stop movin', kid! You're gonna make it worse!" Tennessee exclaimed as he and Henry forcefully held the squirming twelve-year-old down. "You want it to hurt more? Stop movin'!" he ordered. He looked at Henry. "Find some kind of thick stick for him to bite down on."

Henry nodded and looked around the base of the tree quickly. At the next flash of lightning, he found the perfect stick, grabbed it, and looked back at his son. "Bite down on this," he said. The cub immediately complied and bit down hard. Henry lifted Beary's head and shoulders, and rested it on his lap—Beary's head ended up resting against his father's belly—as the older bear knelt down behind his son.

Tennessee, having some first aid training—they all had gotten the training course from Renee Daka since Beary was an epileptic—gently began feeling the injured leg up and down. When he got to a little bit below the knee, just below where Beary's cargo shorts ended, he stopped moving and his eyes widened as a flash of lighting illuminated something white surrounded by crimson blood coming out of the cub's leg. "Holy cow…" he whispered. "Henry, his bone is poking through his skin. He's bleedin' badly."

The elder father let out a loud curse.

Jewel finally broke away from her mother and rushed to Beary's side. She grabbed his paw as she knelt in the mud next to him. Tears fell as she looked into his pain-filled eyes.

"Trixie," Tennessee said, "go back to the _Hall_ and call for an ambulance. Bring the others with you when you come back. I don't think we can move him by ourselves without causing him further injury."

The golden she-bear nodded and quickly took off running, ignoring the rain that was drenching her fur and the thunder that boomed overhead.

The brown bear then looked at his daughter sadly. He didn't want to ask her to do it, but he had no choice. He wouldn't make it up the ladder. "Jewel, baby girl, I need you to go back up there and bring any magazines or anything like that down here. We have to immobilize his leg."

Jewel nodded and gave Beary's paw one last squeeze before she got up and climbed back up the planks. She slowly and carefully came back down about a two minutes later with a full backpack. Once safely on the ground, she set the backpack down and knelt next to her father, handing him the magazines. Once her job was done, she was back to holding Beary's paw.

Henry held onto his son's shoulders, preventing him from moving as Tennessee splinted the cub's leg carefully with the magazines and ripped blanket, being mindful of the bone that was sticking out of Beary's left shin. He felt his son, whining and whimpering weakly, tremble violently and just prayed that it was because he was going into shock and it wasn't because he was having a seizure.

"Henry! Tennessee!" Beams from flashlights illuminated the area, emanating from numerous flashlights, about two minutes later.

Henry looked to his left let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the others were coming towards them. "Thank the gods." He looked back down at his son and his eyes widened when one of the flashlights illuminated the cub's face.

Beary's eyes were closed, but he was still breathing. He was slipping into unconsciousness.

The father gently shook his shoulders and took the stick out of his son's mouth, positive that there would be no more screaming. "Beary, don't go to sleep." The cub's eyes opened briefly before fluttering close again. Henry shook the cub's shoulders again, but all he got was a soft moan.

"Holy crud! Trixie, you didn't say it was _this_ bad!" Zeb complained as he knelt across from Tennessee.

"Enough chit-chat! Let's get him out of here!" Ted said. He hated the fact that his fur was getting wet. They hadn't had a chance to grab their raincoats when Trixie had come running into the _Hall_ and telling them that Beary had fallen out of a tree. She had ordered Fred to call an ambulance, which he did while the others followed Trixie back to the accident scene in full-blown panic.

Tennessee took control of situation. "Zeb, you take his right leg. Henry, you got his upper body, right?"

Henry nodded.

"Good. Let's carefully pick him up and carry him back to the Hall. I'll take his left leg. One. Two. Three! Lift!"

As gently as they could, the three bears lifted the semi-conscious cub and began making their way back to the _Hall_. Jewel walked beside them, still holding Beary's paw and trying to keep him awake.

By the time they made it back to the _Hall_, with them all slipping in the mud every few steps, the paramedics and ambulance had arrived. Beary was immediately loaded onto the gurney and Henry rode in the front of the ambulance to the hospital.

_.~*~._

"This thing is itchy," Beary complained five weeks later as he stuck a yardstick down the inside of his boot and attempted to scratch at the itch.

A titanium plate and thirteen screws had been put in place along his left tibia bone.

The first three weeks home, he had to deal with his mother hen hovering over him all the time. He hadn't minded at first. It had made things a lot easier, but after a while it got old and annoying.

Two weeks ago he was finally able to come back to the _Hall_, much to his relief and annoyance. He was happy to be out of the hospital, but now he was stuck either on a couch or his bed all day. He was already going insane with boredom. He couldn't do **_anything_** and it was frustrating him.

Not only that, but he was being babied again. And this time, Dex was there to help the adults. So much for brother rivalry.

And his voice… Ever since he had to scream to be heard over the thunder, his voice had been raspy and hoarse.

The only thing he had going for him was that he and Jewel were boyfriend and girlfriend.

Sitting next to him on the couch, Jewel giggled. "Beary…"

"And it's **damn** uncomfortable."

"Hey! Watch your mouth, kid!" Ted scolded as he walked into Henry's living room.

Beary blinked and looked behind him at the black bear. "Hey, you guys say it all the time. Why can't I?"

"Because you're a cub," Zeb said as he followed Ted into the room.

"And you're immature," the injured cub spat back, his frustration at not being able to do anything getting to him.

Zeb's eyes widened. "I am _not_!"

"Yes, you are."

"Don't even start, you two," Henry said as he walked into the room carrying a tray with soup. He set the tray down on the table in front of Beary and Jewel.

"But he started it!" Zeb complained.

"I did not!"

"Did, too!"

"Did not!"

Jewel glanced at her "uncle". "Arguing with an injured twelve-year-old **_is_** immature, Uncle Zeb. You know you'll never win."

The former honeyaholic gaped at her before he crossed his arms and stuck out his tongue at them.

The two cubs just laughed.

"Good seein' you two laughin'," Fred commented as he wandered in. He joined the other adults and they talked quietly for a few minutes before Beary spoke up.

Beary's voice softly spoke up a few minutes later, as he looked down at the ground. "I just want to get up and walk again. I'm tired of just sitting here. It's boring."

"You better be walkin' soon, kid," Tennessee said as he and Trixie walked in, holding paws. "You're gonna be my Best Man, come September."

Everyone stared, jaws dropped, at the couple as Trixie held out her left paw, revealing the sparkling diamond that now rested on her ring finger. "That's right," she said with a smile. "Tennessee **_finally_** asked me to marry him."

Tennessee looked at his daughter. "Jewel, would you finally like to become Jewel Destiny O'Neal?"

Jewel abandoned her friend and rushed to her parents, wrapping her arms around them both. "Oh my gosh! Yes!" she squealed excitedly.

The other adults began congratulating the engaged couple, but all sound in the room stopped when a voice spoke.

"Well, it's about time."

Everyone looked at Beary with wide eyes. His voice was not soft and quiet, nor was it hoarse and raspy. It sounded just like it had before he had been kidnapped last year. It was strong.

"What?" he asked, his voice still strong.

"Beary… You're speaking normally!" Jewel exclaimed.

"I… What?" The next thing he was aware of was arms wrapping around him from just about everyone.

He suddenly let out a squeal when someone accidently poked his side.

At that moment, every standing person in the room glanced at each other before looking at the cub with an evil glint in their eyes.

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no!" That's all Beary managed to say before everyone advanced and started tickling him mercilessly.

All that filled the room after that was loud laughter, shrieking, and squealing.

_.~*~._

No one saw the tanned-skinned, blonde spiky-haired figure watching them through the window with malice in his eyes.

"Have your fun for now, Beary Taylor. I'll be seeing you and your little girlfriend soon. Just you wait. You'll pay for what you did to my father, Reed Thimple. You and that broad, Jewel, are going to go through Hell."

Josh "Chase" Thimple backed away from the window and left the porch. It would be so easy to douse the building in gasoline, chain all the doors shut, and set it ablaze. Easy, but not fun. No… he had a much better idea.

Getting into his car, he started it and rolled down his window to call out one more threat. "I **_will_** have my revenge!"

With that, he sped off, disappearing in the cloud of dust from the country road. He had some calls to make.

He left only one mark of his presence on the porch: A slightly torn photograph from two years ago that featured Beary, Ted, Fred, Tennessee, Zeb, and Roadie in front of the tour bus. A red heart was drawn around Beary's head and the words "_The Heart of the Group…_" were written across the bottom of the picture.

**.~*End Book 1: Revenge*~.**


End file.
